Provide names of other journalists involved.
William McMichael Corianne Natoli Kelly Bothum
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
October 28, 2012 October 29, 2012 November 18, 2012 Novermber 21, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. A controversial overhaul of the status quo, the law was challenged and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court. As the election approached – with the potential to dramatically change the law – the stories we told were to help people understand the core elements of the law, how it came to be, what it intended to address and what impact the law on everyone from individuals to families, to health care providers, the state, health insurance companies and business owners.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
No FOIA or public records requests were used in the story. Numerous reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Institute were used in compiling the story, all available online. I also used reports available online from the state of Delaware, the Delaware Health Care Commission and the University of Delaware.
Explain types of human sources used.
Numerous human sources were used, including members of the state government and members of Delaware Governor Jack Markell’s cabinet, health insurance company officials, physicians, hospital CEOs, individual business owners, seniors on Medicare, and many people from the community, including the “working poor,” families with insurance and families without insurance, the young and uninsured and more. I also interviewed experts both locally and nationally on everything from health policy to health economics to interests specific to health care in Delaware.
Results:
The piece culminated in a very well-attended public forum where people were invited to hear an expert panel address the hard questions and then could ask their own questions to weigh in and receive more information. Feedback on the piece was overwhemingly positive. Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., a negotiator of the Affordable Care Act, called it one of the most clear and comprehensive pieces on the health care law he had ever read.
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 corrections or clarifications have been run and the accuracy of the piece has not been challenged. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and it was lauded for its objectivity and its comprehensiveness.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Give yourself more time than you think you need and seek help in your outlet or your network in working on big stories such as these. I individually had over 100 pages of typed interview notes and it was an exhaustive process to go through all of these interviews and create a cohesive, comprehensive story that hit all of the objective points we aimed to hit in our piece. Have a plan and execute it well. Invite feedback along the way.