Milbank Memorial Fund

At the start of his second term, President Trump terminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs throughout the government, which closed DEI offices and removed equity-related content from government websites. Despite a temporary hold on the ban from a federal judge, many state agencies, universities, and large companies have followed suit and terminated their DEI programs.? In a new?Milbank Quarterly?guest Opinion, Steve Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine discusses the?anti-DEI movement?in the context of other efforts “to silence conversations about race and block efforts to expand opportunity across racial lines.” Woolf argues that the systematic assault on DEI and on efforts to improve the health of all Americans will deepen health inequities and contribute to declining life expectancy in the United States. He urges individuals and organizations to protect the health of marginalized populations and promote population health.? https://lnkd.in/eCsq2j9T

Congress is considering significant reductions in federal spending that could affect funding for Medicaid. In a new blog, Sarah Loch and Elizabeth Mendes from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health share findings from their recent survey with Gallup on American’s public health priorities. The survey found that health care access and affordability was one of the?top three public health priorities?and that Americans of all ages, races, and geographic regions support strengthening safety net programs.? The authors also point out that poorer states stand to lose the most from federal cuts to Medicaid. “In wealthier states like Massachusetts, the federal government matches each state dollar spent on Medicaid, while lower-income states like Georgia receive $3 in federal funds for every $2 they contribute,” they explain. “As a result, cuts to Medicaid would hit poorer, Southern states the hardest, and disproportionately affect the nation’s children.” https://lnkd.in/eDF26Tvd

To address primary care workforce shortages and access problems, nearly 20 states are engaged in efforts to strategically invest in primary care. In a new report, Vida Joan Foubister profiles efforts in five states — California, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Virginia — that are at different stages of enacting and implementing primary care spending targets. All five states are represented in the Primary Care Investment Network supported by The Commonwealth Fund, the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) and the Milbank Memorial Fund.?CC Cory King Lauryn Walker Lisa P. Sementilli Christina Foss Kathryn E. Phillips Beth Bortz

Discover how depolarization efforts among state public sector leaders can contribute to improved health outcomes in a new American Journal of Public Health article by Milbank's Morgan McDonald, MD FACP FAAP

ICYMI: Many thanks to Milbank Memorial Fund President Chris Koller for talking with ACAP CEO Meg Murray on our latest Coffee Break podcast episode.?? ? As founding chair of ACAP’s board, Chris takes us back a quarter century to the Association’s beginnings and shares what he’d like to see ACAP achieve in the next decade. Listen: https://bit.ly/4hHbZ0Z

Missed The Milbank Quarterly webinar, Medicaid Prerelease and Transition Services for Incarcerated Individuals? Watch the recording to hear from Sanjay Basu, Harold Pollack, Cameron Adams of Arizona Medicaid, and Autumn Boylan, M.P.H. of the California Department of Health Care Services

The Affordable Care Act established free preventive care requirements for nearly all forms of health insurance based on recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and experts from the Health Resources and Services Administration. In a new?Milbank Quarterly?Opinion, Sara Rosenbaum of the George Washington University describes ongoing litigation focused on the constitutionality of the?recommendations of the USPSTF—whose members are not appointed by the Senate—that could threaten the coverage of preventive services, including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer screening. While the Trump administration’s defense of the USPSTF recommendations may seem surprising, she argues that it is part of the administration’s effort to control all policies governing preventive health care and give more power to the US Health and Human Services Secretary. “Today, the Trump administration and advocates for a comprehensive public health approach to preventive care are allies in a common cause to save the constitutionality of the USPSTF,” Rosenbaum says. “Should the administration begin to use its power to unravel coverage, an alliance presumably will no longer be the case.” https://lnkd.in/e2_5xD7f

Tune into this Milbank Quarterly's webinar today, March 6, from 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. ET.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain drugs with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that people with Medicare have access to innovative cures and therapies at a reasonable price. In a new?Milbank Quarterly?guest Opinion, Kristi Martin and Meena Seshamani, former leaders at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,?highlight the challenges of?implementing an ambitious initiative?within a large organization and share lessons learned from their experience with the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. “The three key strategies of our implementation journey — inclusive and nimble hiring, balance of speed and quality, and early definition of goals — enabled us to overcome complicated processes, slow decision-making, and isolated silos that can plague all large organizations, public and private,” the authors say. https://lnkd.in/eAJ6V2ph

How’s the Health of US Primary Care? Get the latest picture as well as promising practices and policies in the 2025 Primary Care Scorecard report and state data dashboard. https://lnkd.in/e67u8BSn