The States of Health

Short takes on health policy issues from Milbank staff and guest authors.

Keyword

Focus Area

  • Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in the Bronx Through New Forms of Accountability

    June 2026 Michelle Morse Robert Rock

    When studying heat maps produced by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Department, and digging into the endless tables of data…  More

  • Why Preventive Care Still Struggles Financially—Even in Value-Based Care

    May 2026 Justin Frazer

    For more than a decade, US health policy has been moving toward value-based care, or paying for health outcomes rather than the number of services delivered. And yet, even within many value-based models, preventive care often remains financially difficult to sustain.  More

  • A Framework for Evaluating Primary Care Investment

    March 2026 Kevin Grumbach Deborah J. Cohen Stephanie B. Gold Rebecca S. Etz Lauren S. Hughes Robert L. Phillips Andrew Bazemore Elisabeth Wilson Russell S. Phillips

    Despite a robust body of evidence demonstrating that strong primary care is foundational to a high-performing health system associated with improved…  More

  • Addressing Unmet Health Care Needs Through Insurance Benefit Design: Challenges and Opportunities

    March 2026 Cori E. Uccello Annette James Rebecca A. Sheppard Sara Teppema

    Public programs have increasingly sought to address health-related social needs that create barriers to care and health disparities and drive health care costs. For instance, several state Medicaid programs now cover medically tailored meals, housing supports, and non-emergency transportation through managed care and demonstration waivers.   More

  • Integrating State Data to Promote Evidence-Based Policy: The New Jersey Integrated Population Health Data (iPHD) Project

    March 2026 Margaret Koller Joe Brecht

    Which pregnant women are most likely to rely on emergency department care, and how can they be better served? How did COVID-19 affect birth outcomes, and what would support improvements in future infectious disease outbreaks? These and other questions can be answered with existing state data when these data are integrated.  More

  • Leveraging Insurer-Provided Health Care Price Data to Inform State Policy Solutions

    March 2026 Shruthika Padhy Christopher M. Whaley

    Driven mainly by high and variable prices, United States’ health care spending is among the highest in the world. Yet, higher prices make health care less affordable and are often not linked to higher quality.  More

  • 2026 Primary Care Scorecard Shows Continued Underinvestment, Workforce Strain

    February 2026 Yalda Jabbarpour

    The 2026 Primary Care Scorecard data show incremental, but fragile, gains in the primary care workforce and training pipeline. Financing for primary care continues to stagnate, with national spending levels largely unchanged and far below what is needed. There was considerable state variability for primary care spending and for primary care workforce density.  More

  • A Five-State All-Payer Claims Database Collaboration: Onpoint Health Data’s Multi-State Behavioral Health Initiative

    January 2026 Amy Kinner Katherine Ahrens Katie McGraves-Lloyd

    Takeaways for states considering cross-state all-payer claims database collaborations to assess health care quality, use, or costs.  More

  • Paying for Children’s Health: Building a Healthier Future from the Start

    January 2026 Kara Odom Walker Rachel J. Thornton Steven M. Costantino Andrew Wilson

    “If we want to change the trajectory of adults’ health, we have to start with the health of children.”  Over the past decade,…  More

  • The Pathway to Primary Care Investment Is Bolstered by Accountable Care

    December 2025 Farzad Mostashari

    Primary care improves outcomes, reduces costs, and decreases disparities, yet continues to be critically underfunded. The result? Fewer clinicians choosing primary care, particularly independent primary care, declining morale among those who do, and decreased patient access.   More