Journal profile · Health Care Sciences & Services
Milbank Quarterly
ISSN 0887-378X · eISSN 1468-0009 · Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1986
Milbank Quarterly: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 6.05; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,430; median 135 days to acceptance (39 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 74 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Milbank Quarterly is published by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Policy and Management, Primary Care and Health Outcomes and Health disparities and outcomes, together about 33.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions and Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Continuously published since 1923, The Milbank Quarterly is a multidisciplinary journal of population health and health policy. It presents original research, synthesis, policy analysis, and commentary from leading thinkers, policymakers, and practitioners. The Quarterly’s goal is to publish scholarly papers that illuminate and add new insights to our understanding of important policy issues involving health and health care. Our audience includes the academic community, researchers working in all types of settings, and decision makers in both the public and private sectors. The in-depth, multidisciplinary approach of the journal permits contributors to explore fully the social origins of health in our society and to examine in detail the implications of different health policies. Contributions come from many disciplines, including epidemiology, medicine, bioethics, law, history, and the full array of social science disciplines and health services professions. Manuscripts for the Quarterly should seek to communicate beyond the author’s home discipline. They may have a point of view, but it is essential that evidence be presented fairly and accurately, with difficult dimensions identified and not glossed over. Topics addressed in the Quarterly include but are not limited to the impact of social factors on health, disease prevention, allocation of health resources, legal and ethical issues in health policy, health care management, historical analysis of health policies, and the organization and financing of health care. We welcome, in particular, manuscripts that address the intersection between health and various sectors of public policy (eg, education, housing, environment, criminal justice), that propose new ideas and frameworks for improving health and health care at the state level and that test and evaluate new approaches and strategies for financing, organizing, and delivering services to various populations, and that provide lessons for the US health care system drawn from the experiences of other nations’ health care systems.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Health Care Sciences & Services
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance17%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions10%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences6.8%
- Public Health Policies and EducationHealth Professions5.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.6%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions5.5%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbasePsycINFOCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 6.05LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 6.2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.47LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 92LetPub ·
- h-index
- 162OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 995OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.96OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 51.72%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 58LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 63Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 372,376Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,255 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 67 | 63 | 22 |
| 2025 | 74 | 58 | 119 |
| 2024 | 46 | 41 | 412 |
| 2023 | 97 | 92 | 1,734 |
| 2022 | 49 | 44 | 589 |
| 2021 | 57 | 53 | 2,519 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
135 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 101 days – 164 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 39 days (40 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 177 days
- Sample
- 39 articles with submission and acceptance dates (142 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 21%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 21%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 134 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,430 / EUR 3,700 / GBP 3,010 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 250–300 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 4
- Reference style
- AMA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- systematic reviewFor the convenience of reviewers, manuscripts that are systematic reviews should be accompanied by the protocol used by the authors to conduct the review unless…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright
- Authorship Authorship
Each author of a manuscript submitted to The Milbank Quarterly must meet the following authorship criteria set forth by the ICMJE, certifying that he or she has (1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and (2) made substantial contributions to the drafting of, or critical revisions to, the work…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Financial Support and Potential Conflicts of Interest
When a manuscript is submitted, all authors of the manuscript must complete the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. In addition, the manuscript’s acknowledgments must include any potential conflicts of interest or situations that could give the appearance of a conflict of interest, as disclosed in the ICMJE Form, resulting from authors’ financial, personal, or professiona…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Transfer
Copyright transfer to Milbank Memorial Fund required, except for U.S. federal government employees. Model summary
The Milbank Quarterly requires the corresponding author of an article accepted for publication to transfer copyright to the Milbank Memorial Fund on behalf of his or her coauthor(s), except for authors who cannot transfer copyright because they were employees of the U.S. federal government when the work described in the manuscript was conducted.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1986
- ISSN
- 0887-378X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-0009
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 104, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Milbank Quarterly
What CAS zone is Milbank Quarterly in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Milbank Quarterly is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services / Health Policy & Services. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Milbank Quarterly?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 6.05; CiteScore 7.8, h-index 162.
How long does peer review take at Milbank Quarterly?
Based on the dates recorded on 39 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 135 days (interquartile range 101–164 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 21% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Milbank Quarterly?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 250–300 words; Keywords: ≤ 4; Reference style: AMA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Milbank Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Milbank Quarterly is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Milbank Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Milbank Quarterly is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,430.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .