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Covering health care affordability: A big story with major impact
In the first entry in a series for STAT News, “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach,” reporter Bob Herman showed that since 1987, the cost of health insurance for employers and workers has risen by 979% while overall inflation in that time rose by 176%, an increase of more than 450%. Such huge increases are…
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AI-powered symptom checkers direct worried patients to appropriate care
Worrying abdominal pain, headaches or other health symptoms frequently happen at inconvenient times, like on a weekend or after your doctor’s office has closed for the day. To accommodate patients with concerns like this, some medical centers have begun offering their own AI-powered symptom checkers — programs that ask patients questions about their symptoms and…
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More primary care linked to lower health care costs, study says
Investing more in primary care is linked to lower health care costs, according to a new report. Journalists can cover this story nationally and locally, especially in rural areas where access to primary care can be more challenging, according to the report, “Investing in Primary Care: The Missing Strategy in America’s Fight Against Chronic Disease,”…
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KFF reporter documents resident-on-resident violence in dementia care facilities
Dementia can rob people of impulse control as well as memory — and in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the result can be violence between residents, sometimes fatal. In a recent KFF Health News investigation, reporter Jordan Rau examined how warning signs are repeatedly missed and safeguards often fail, drawing on court records, police…
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What Trump’s latest executive order means (and doesn’t mean) for vaccine policy
The Trump administration issued an executive order on childhood vaccine recommendations Monday. It’s important that your reporting on the order clarifies what it does and doesn’t mean for families, including whether it changes actual national policy on vaccines (it does not). This quick primer can help journalists navigate the key points to better inform their…
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How I Did It: Pittsburgh reporter brings home Japan’s elder care lessons for U.S.
Kiley Koscinski, a reporter at WESA, Pittsburgh’s public radio station, was one of this year’s recipients of the AHCJ International Health Study Fellowship, supported by The Commonwealth Fund. A prior trip to Japan was the basis of her reporting project, a multi-part series called “Designing Dignity.” It explores how the U.S. and Japan approach elder…
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7 tips for negotiating higher pay as a freelance journalist
Asking for more money as a freelancer isn’t something I’m particularly good at. Often, I’m just excited to get an assignment — especially if it’s one of my ideas — and publications typically present their rates as non-negotiable (“We pay $1 a word” or “The fee for this assignment is $400”). With more outlets shuttering…
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