The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded the 2025 U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowships to five journalists who will pursue yearlong reporting projects examining health care systems and health equity in the U.S.
The program, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, is in its 15th year, and is designed to provide support and education for journalists working to pursue big projects, providing mentorship and resources they wouldn’t otherwise be able to obtain.
Reporting projects must be related to the performance of U.S. health care systems — either local, regional, or national — with the goal of fostering and nurturing a more diverse field of skilled health care journalists, informing public debate and exploring solutions to health care problems.
2025 fellows and their projects:
- Anissa Durham of Word in Black: Medical mistrust, fear and misinformation run deep in Black and brown communities — but how does it impact organ donation and transplantation? With more Americans on the waiting list, what systems are hurting or helping patients dying for a transplant?
- Kelly Hooper of Politico: A probe of new treatments such as weight-loss drugs and cell and gene therapies offering hope to Medicaid patients with a range of diseases. But the treatments’ immense cost creates significant gaps in access to potentially life-saving care based on class, race and geography.
- Mohana Ravindranath of STAT: Investigating emerging preventive screening — including full-body scans, AI-based risk predictions and direct-to-consumer lab tests — and their potential impacts on health costs and health equity.
- Heerea Rikhraj of New Mexico In Depth: Connecting the dots on how New Mexico’s hospital financing and systems impact the state’s growing maternity care crisis, which disproportionately impacts racialized and Indigenous women.
- Manasi Vaidya of GlobalData: Exploring the growing role of state Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs) in deciding what drugs are covered by a U.S. state, with a focus on therapies for cystic fibrosis and other rare disorders.
The fellowship covers the cost of attending seminars and AHCJ events, as well as a $2,500 project allowance to defray the cost of field reporting, health data analysis and other project-related research. Each project includes a $5,000 award upon completion. Recipients will continue their jobs during the fellowship year while receiving customized training, mentoring and financial support for their projects.
Learn more about the Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance here.
Learn more about AHCJ’s other health journalism fellowships.
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The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. With about 1,500 members across the U.S. and around the globe, its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. The association and its sister organization, the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism provide training, resources and support for journalists, including health journalism fellowships, webinars, networking and conferences.
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. The Fund is based in New York City.
