In 2022, ~4% of medical spending in the US went to primary care, a decrease since 2018. And in 2025, there were 7,901 primary care health professional shortage areas. A new Health Care Cost Institute report highlights the need for strategic primary care investment:

Fifteen years ago, Rhode Island established affordability standards to cap annual increases in commercial insurers’ reimbursement rates for hospitals. A new issue brief presents the findings of a recent study from the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR) at Brown University

In a new open-access Milbank Quarterly article, @sarahgollust.bsky.social of the University of Minnesota and coauthors interviewed public health communicators — including public health leaders, advocates, and journalists — about their strategies for explaining health equity.

In a new open-access Milbank Quarterly Perspective, @loridorfman.bsky.social & coauthors argue that advancing health and racial equity requires building narrative power — the ability to shape societal narratives and widespread beliefs — to illuminate structural solutions and advance health equity.

In a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion, haroldpollack.bsky.social and coauthors describe the need to improve care for adults with Down syndrome and dementia, who often live with elderly parent-caregivers.

CSHP/ @rutgersifh.bsky.social Assistant Research Professor @aspishakthomas.com and Research Coordinator Allison Oh co-authored a NEW blog post for the @milbankfund.bsky.social. Learn how some states provide #healthinsurance to #children regardless of #immigration status: go.rutgers.edu/lo7kicw4

Longstanding evidence shows that insuring children, regardless of immigration status, improves access to preventive care, reduces uncompensated care costs, and enhances long-term health outcomes.

A Framework for Assessing the Permissibility of Academic Leaders’ Outside Activities Published in The Milbank Quarterly: A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population Health and Health Policy @milbankfund.bsky.social Co-authored by PARC Associate Emily Largent

In a new post, Morgan McDonald, MD FACP FAAP draws on sessions at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit to offer policymakers and others guidance on surviving today's heated politics and fostering dialogue. www.milbank.org/2025/09/can-... #depolarization

In a new Milbank Quarterly Guest Opinion, @emmabethmcginty.bsky.social & @magdalena-cerda.bsky.social, co-editors of the upcoming MQ special issue, argue that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's cuts to Medicaid will heighten the behavioral health crisis in the United States.

The budget reconciliation bill threatens ACA gains, warns Tiffany Joseph in Milbank Quarterly, a publication from GIH Funding Partner @milbankfund.bsky.social. Joseph says Medicaid burdens, work rules, and cuts risk coverage loss for many, especially immigrants and low-income people. Read more:

In the wake of the #OBBBA, @nashphealth.bsky.social and @milbankfund.bsky.social have put together recommendations on how states can get the most value out of Medicaid programs. Give their ideas a read here ⬇️

Evidence shows strong primary care = better outcomes at lower cost. See this new @nashphealth.bsky.social‬ and ‪ @milbankfund.bsky.social report to learn about the policy actions state leaders can take to strengthen #primarycare & state success stories. bit.ly/4nfg676

State leaders must act now to invest in high-value care. Evidence shows strong primary care = better outcomes at lower cost. A new @nashphealth.bsky.social and @milbankfund.bsky.social report shares policy options to strengthen primary care & state success stories #primarycare

🏥 New report: Implementing High-Quality Primary Care – A Policy Menu for States. NASHP and Milbank Memorial Fund’s new State Primary Care Policy Menu highlights five priorities for stronger primary care. 📖 Read it → loom.ly/KITs31k 🎤 Learn more at #NASHPCONF2025 “Seawalls and Safety Nets”

In a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion, John McDonough of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health argues that the 2012 Supreme Court ruling that found the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion mandate unconstitutional should apply to the new work requirement mandate and sanctions

Despite overwhelming evidence of its harmful effects, a Medicaid work requirement is now law. In a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion, Sara Rosenbaum argues that the work requirement mandate repeals the ACA’s Medicaid expansion for low-income working-age adults

States are planning responses to the insurance coverage losses/potential negative impacts to population health that HR1/OBBB will trigger. To mitigate harms & address longstanding challenges, authors from IMPaCT Care argue that states should prioritize investments in community health worker programs

The OBBBA erodes nearly all ACA's progress toward health care coverage. In a guest Opinion, ‪@tiffanydjoseph.bsky.social‬ argues that efforts to limit benefits began when undocumented immigrants were barred from Medicaid +50 years ago, & w/ OBBBA, have expanded to curtail citizen’s access to care

The Affordable Care Act created premium tax credits to help expand health coverage at subsidized rates — and enhancements from 2021 have made record progress in reducing the uninsured rate. But at year’s end, these enhancements will expire unless Congress acts. bit.ly/45la3I2

Medicare beneficiaries spent 11% of their total per capita income on out-of-pocket health care costs, on average, but 1 in 4 beneficiaries spent at least 21% and 1 in 10 beneficiaries spent 39% or more. https://on.kff.org/4lL3R0S

A new open-access article describes the implementation of the Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) model, which provides comprehensive mental health and case management services to underserved victims of violent crime, in Los Angeles County

A new open-access Milbank Quarterly special issue article proposes a conceptual framework demonstrating how state economic and social support policies related to earned income tax credits, minimum wage, paid sick leave, cash assistance programs, and Medicaid coverage generosity shape mental health.

In his latest View from Here, Milbank Memorial Fund President Chris Koller describes how challenging the work of state health policy leaders will be in the coming years & offers principles for state leadership as they respond to these changes and try to mitigate the impact on residents’ health

In a new article, journalist Joanne Kenen shares experiences and evidence that show a racially, ethnically, and linguistically representative workforce, which can provide what is sometimes called concordance between patient and clinician, can be good for the health of patients and communities.

In the latest Story From the Field from The Milbank Quarterly and IAPHS, Arden Handler, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, comments on the dismantling of the field of maternal and child health epidemiology and the hope she still has in her former colleagues.

A more representative health care workforce=better health & economic outcomes for all. Read @milbankfund.bsky.social, “Why the U.S. Needs a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Health Care Workforce” for more on the science of patient-provider concordance & fixing our broken health system: bit.ly/457tMe4

A new guest Opinion from ‪@jerelezell.bsky.social‬ & ‪@sugychoi.bsky.social‬ describes how opioid settlement funds have failed to address racial disparities in prevention/treatment as well as the way that structural racism has contributed to opioid addiction in racial and ethnic minority communities

State/local governments will receive over $50 billion of opioid settlement funds over the next 18 years to mitigate harms from the opioid crisis. In a new special issue article, authors describe lessons learned from the Tobacco Master Settlement and best practices for local jurisdictions.

As more state policymakers & employers recognize the role of high hospital costs in rising health care spending, they are looking for ways to assess how effectively hospitals are using available resources to deliver patient care.

Transparency alone is insufficient to constrain rising health care costs. The @milbankfund.bsky.social issue brief below explores how California and other states are leading the way in developing strategies to manage and curb rising health care costs. www.milbank.org/publications...

In a new blog post, Micaela Camozzi describes the upending of her public health career and personal life and those of fellow federal workers who were fired in mass layoffs earlier this year, and the loss of critical public health services.

A new brief from bailithealth.bsky.social describes how several states w/ cost growth target programs are helping to ensure health provider & payer accountability for meeting the target with enforcement provisions, or by leveraging their cost growth targets in other health care oversight programs.

A new blog post describes the progress — and cost savings — now at risk following federal funding and staff cuts to sexually transmitted infection (STI) outreach, data infrastructure, treatment, and research.

Join us for a Milbank Quarterly webinar on July 25, 1 – 2 p.m. ET focused on two articles about regulating consumer products from our special issue, Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges Facing the United States: What Can State Policymakers Do?

In a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion, Dalton Conley of Princeton University argues that while personalized medicine offers promise, individualized drug therapy is not economically feasible because of clinical trial norms and intellectual property laws.

State legislators are accustomed to bruising politics and the grind of committee hearings, but as Milbank’s Christopher Koller and Morgan McDonald write in a new View from Here, physical harm isn’t anticipated:

In a time of increased skepticism towards health systems + cuts to the federal public health workforce, community health workers (CHW) offer a hyperlocal approach to rebuilding trust. In a new Opinion, Kushal T. Kadakia & coauthors describe successful CHW programs and ways to support this workforce

In a new open-access article, @Molly Knowles of the University of Pennsylvania and coauthors evaluated the implementation of the Individualized Management for Person-Centered Targets (IMPaCT) model, an evidence-based CHW model that standardizes hiring, training, support and supervision.

Check out personal stories from #pophealth scientists about how drastic federal funding cuts are affecting scientific progress & junior researchers' careers. This includes several stories from people here @hsph.harvard.edu who lost all federal funding, including my team's story. @iaphs.bsky.social

Researchers are facing new, challenging circumstances that make our efforts to improve population health harder. The current environment makes conducting research to achieve more equity unstable at best. Thanks @milbankfund.bsky.social @iaphs.bsky.social for giving me and others a space to share!

“Targets are just not sufficient. That’s the bottom line,” Chris Koller of @milbankfund.bsky.social shared primary care reform lessons learned from other states with Massachussetts' Primary Care Access, Delivery, and Payment Task Force. Key takeaways below ⬇️ www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

Find out what what's keeping early-career and experienced population health researchers up at night in these first-person stories collected by The Milbank Quarterly and the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science www.milbank.org/stories-from...

This spring, several states, like CT, OR, & RI are releasing new data tracking how fast health care spending has been rising. In a new Health Affairs Forefront article, Milbank Memorial Fund president Chris Koller Koller points out that the programs are providing policy-relevant data on cost drivers

Recent program cuts to the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health pose a serious threat to the health of women and babies. Lauren Christiansen-Lindquist cautions the harms that data pauses will have on mothers, babies, and families in an op-ed featured on the @milbankfund.bsky.social blog.

In a new Milbank Quarterly guest Opinion, @povertyscholar.bsky.social & @sarahgollust.bsky.social share public attitudes toward Congress’s proposed Medicaid funding cuts reported in their April 2025 survey.

In a new Milbank blog post, @lclindquist.bsky.social of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University discusses the impact of the loss of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data for participating states, localities, and territories.

A lesser-known provision in the US House of Representatives–passed tax bill would delay implementation of a federal regulation designed to reduce paperwork burdens that limit older adults’ access to benefits. Read a new blog from authors at University of Pennsylvania/SCAN Foundation on impacts:

IFH researcher @annnguyen4.bsky.social @rutgerscshp.bsky.social coauthored an article in @milbankfund.bsky.social on the state of behavioral health care & what policymakers & health care systems can do to better integrate behavioral health care into primary care. www.milbank.org/2025/05/inte...