List date(s) this work was published or aired.
22-Jul-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
This story follows Amerigroup Corp., a home-grown Medicaid managed care company, from its worst misstep to a significant milestone: its sale for $4.9 billion to one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
I used prior stories covering the company and financial and academic reports about the Medicaid managed care industry.
Explain types of human sources used.
I interviewed Amerigroup’s founder, the current CEO and other executives, as well as financial analysts and academics who study the Medicaid managed care industry.
Results:
N/A
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.
N/A
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
My goal with this story was to recreate the human drama behind seemingly dry events in the business world. I wanted people who don’t care about Medicaid managed care to care about this business and the people running it. It helped to research the history thoroughly beforehand, then interview the subjects extensively about what they thought and did during key moments.