About The Milbank Quarterly

In a Perspective, Tsung-Mei Cheng of Princeton pays tribute to her late husband by bringing attention to an often-overlooked path to universal health coverage that he strongly supported: Germany’s all-payer system. More

Rather than distribute funding to states as the tobacco master settlement agreement did, the authors of this Opinion propose that 70% of all resources from a potential opioid agreement should be used to create a new national nonprofit that would allocate resources to communities most affected by or at risk of being impacted by the opioid crisis. More

Lantz argues that super-utilizer interventions are cost-containment strategies that can help patients who are in critical need. To address its fundamental problems, the US needs broader solutions that are “aimed at the macro- and community-level systems and institutions that drive social, political, and economic disadvantage and health inequities.” More

It’s challenging for regional health leaders to prioritize health interventions when facing so many tangled threats to health and well-being. In a new Milbank Quarterly study, Bobby Milstein of ReThink Health and Jack Homer of MIT Sloan School of Management used a new simulation model to project the impact of regional health and well-being interventions over 20 years. More

Two decades ago, seeing a windmill while driving through the countryside was a rare, special event. I can remember my 11 year‐old daughter… More

The Diabetes Prevention Program study published in 2002 showed that lifestyle changes—such as behavioral counseling, physical activity, and weight loss—could lower the risk of type 2 diabetes for high-risk adults. Eight years later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used this research to establish and then spread the National Diabetes Prevention Program, which is now covered by Medicare and private payers. More

Rutgers Center for State Health Policy researchers found that homeless adult Medicaid beneficiaries in New Jersey have higher levels of health care needs and are more likely to visit the emergency department or require inpatient admissions. They conclude that offering tenancy support services that help homeless adults achieve stable housing may be a cost-effective strategy for improving the health of this vulnerable population while reducing spending on avoidable health care interventions. More

This study finds an equity-first “preemption” framework can help ensure that local governments can innovate to address health inequities, while also allowing states and the federal government to block local laws or policies that are likely to create or perpetuate inequities. More

A 10% increase in pregnancy-related public health spending led to a 13.5% decline in maternal mortality rates among black mothers and a 20% reduction in the black-white maternal mortality gap in Florida between 2001 and 2014. More

Sander Steenhuis of the Talma Institute at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and colleagues report on their systematic literature review of the payment model, in which they identify and categorize 53 key elements that affect the bundled payment contract development process. More

As with long-term care and other health care issues, Washington State is out in front with its plan to test a public option (of sorts) in the… More

In 2019, Washington became the first state to pass legislation creating a public long-term care insurance program. In doing so, we are leading the way… More

High rates of infant mortality are well documented in the United States, compared with those of peer nations. Shocking and unacceptable rates of… More

In 2017, a large randomized controlled trial expected to resolve a 40-year controversy over the impact of moderate drinking on heart disease was halted following news reports about its industry funding. In a new Perspective, Gerald M. Oppenheimer and Ronald Bayer of Columbia University trace the history of that controversy. More

States have implemented a number of preventive measures to address the health consequences of opioid misuse and addiction. In a new review of evaluations of these policies, the University of Michigan’s Amanda Mauri and colleagues conclude that robust prescription drug monitoring programs reduce opioid prescribing if they include features like requiring practitioners to check an electronic database before prescribing and obtaining prior authorization for high-risk opioids. More

Although it has been 84 years since The Milbank Quarterly published Edgar Sydenstricker’s “The Changing Concept of Public Health,” the article’s emphasis on preventing poor health outcomes by bolstering economic security, safe and equitable housing conditions, and access to nutritious food and exercise remains as salient as ever. More