1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
Coverage of Health Care Reform, WebMD Editorial
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Sept. 8-Dec. 31, 2010
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Whether people were for or against the new health care law, one issue seemed universal: few people understood it. With that in mind, WebMD decided to tackle health care reform confusion through a variety of channels that included taking reader questions directly to the White House. Here are some highlights of what we did:
1. Got Health Insurance: What Health Policy Means. This story outlined in an easy-to-read fashion the changes that were already in affect from the new law and those that were upcoming.
2. Health Care Reform: Your Questions Answered. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius answers questions on video from WebMD readers about the changes to health care that took effect Sept. 23 of last year.
3. Health Insurance Navigator. Because health care questions are ongoing, we established this blog to help readers better understand how to get the most out of their health insurance along with changes from the new health care reform law. This particular post was the most popular from last year.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
For the video event with Secretary Sebelius, WebMD used several different platforms to gather reader questions, including Facebook, community and newsletters. We received more nearly 450 questions over a 9-day period, and selected the best of those to ask Secretary Sebelius at the event. By soliciting reader questions, we were able to take authentic reader concerns to her. For the story and the blog, we used information available online from credible sources.
5. Explain types of human sources used.
For the video event, we interviewed Secretary Sebelius in person. For the story and blog, a variety of insurance experts were interviewed.
6. Results (if any).
While changes to health insurance may not be the sexiest of topics, it is one that touches virtually everyone. Poll after poll also showed that consumers remained confused by the complexity of the law. We believe that our package of content provided several valuable outlets for readers to get information about their concerns and find out answers to their questions. By holding a video event with Secretary Sebelius, we were able to get questions about health care reform from real people answered by the person who arguably understands the law best. Traffic to the Health Insurance Navigator blog is steady and is offering concrete resources so people know what action to take to save on medical bills, deal with their insurance company, or understand how changes in the law are affecting them. Some have thanked Lisa Zamosky and said they were printing out her advice to share with others. We believe that our coverage is providing a unique and valuable public service.
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
None.