The Fund supports networks of state health policy decision makers to help identify, inspire, and inform policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund supports two state leadership programs for legislative and executive branch state government officials committed to improving population health.
The Fund identifies and shares policy ideas and analysis to advance state health leadership, strong primary care, and sustainable health care costs.
Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. And read the latest blogs from our thought leaders, including Fund President Christopher F. Koller.
The Fund publishes The Milbank Quarterly, as well as reports, issues briefs, and case studies on topics important to health policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is is a foundation that works to improve population health and health equity.
April 2025 Bryant Rucker,
We need a more racially and ethnically diverse PA workforce to reflect the US patient population, But despite the significant increase in the number of PA graduates, there has been a steady decrease in Black graduates. Black representation began its decline as many PA programs transitioned to masters-level programs. According to the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), 38 physician assistant schools had zero Black graduates and 16 schools had zero Hispanic graduates from 2019 to 2021. More
Issue Brief
March 2025 Rebecca S. Etz, Kevin Grumbach, Larry A. Green, Kurt C. Stange,
Primary care clinicians are a bellwether for the state of health care and health in the United States. With the Trump Administration moving at… More
Fact Sheet Milbank State Leadership Network
March 2025 Mary Louise Gilburg, Sofia Espinosa,
The Milbank State Leadership Network hosted experts from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to discuss state legislative approaches to Medicaid and behavioral health policy during the 2025 state legislative season. The conversation explored bipartisan approaches to strengthen coverage, address rising costs amid severe budget constraints, and, improve access to substance use disorder treatment and suicide prevention. More
State Health Policy Leadership
March 2025 Sarita A. Mohanty, Narda Ipakchi,
For decades, the program has connected lower-income older adults and people with disabilities to the kind of care that helps them live with independence and purpose. More
March 2025 Sarah Loch, Elizabeth Mendes,
As Congress works toward passing a budget reconciliation plan, lawmakers are considering massive cuts in federal financing for programs that provide… More
Report State Health Policy Leadership
March 2025 Sofia Espinosa, Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald,
In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Milbank Memorial Fund convened the second of two virtual meetings in support of the multi-state Secretary’s Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative. More
Report Primary Care Transformation
March 2025 Vida Foubister,
This series of profiles highlights five states that are in different stages of enacting and implementing primary care spending targets, including early planning and coalition building; active efforts to engage state policymakers; and implementation or revision of an enacted state policy. More
Sustainable Health Care Costs
February 2025 Sabrina Corlette, Karen Davenport,
Unsustainable increases in health care costs are leading to high rates of medical debt, sapping the vitality of small businesses, straining state budgets, and dampening wage growth. States have the power to help reduce health care costs, and several are pursuing policies to do so. More
February 2025 Christopher F. Koller,
The new federal administration is implementing its strategy of, as one if its puppet masters, Steve Bannon, likes to say, “flooding the zone.” Over the course of three weeks, it has released over 50 executive orders and taken administrative actions designed to abolish agencies, flush out a swath of the government workforce, and test the constitutional balance of powers. Collectively this is a real gully washer of executive branch activity. The state and local health officials that Milbank supports are leaders in the communities at the mouth of the gully who are dealing with all that is washing out to them. More
February 2025
Informed by the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) 2021 report on primary care and an advisory committee of key… More
