- http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/2012/Hearing-Aids-Coverage-Skimpy-Michelle-Andrews-041012.aspx
- http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/2012/ER-coverage-alcohol-drug-use-Michelle-Andrews-050112.aspx
- http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/2012/under-26-pregnancy-coverage-michelle-andrews-080712.aspx
- http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/2012/112712-Michelle-Andrews-on-gun-ownership.aspx
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
11/27/12, 8/7/12, 5/1/12, 4/10/12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Michelle Andrews writes the weekly Insuring Your Health consumer column about health insurance that runs on our site, in The Washington Post Health section and other outlets around the country. In these reported columns, she answers questions from readers or examines recent news events or explains changes in the health care market. These are several of her most influential columns in 2012. The April 10 column on coverage for hearing aids looks at the dilemma that many seniors face when they need a hearing aid. The devices generally cost several thousand dollars and most plans do not cover them, including Medicare. About 35 million Americans need a hearing aid, but because of the cost, only a quarter of those people get them. The column about drinking and the emergency room was prompted by a published study that didn’t get much attention. Michelle realized that a common — but not well known — industry practice of denying coverage for people who end up in the emergency department was prompting some medical professionals to not ask about a patient’s drinking problems and perhaps not intercede to help that patient. Michelle’s August column about pregnancy expenses of dependents was an eye-opener for many readers. She was able to examine another common industry practice — denying pregnancy coverage to the insured person’s children — and couple that with the growing number of adults covered as dependents on their parents’ plans because of new protections from the Affordable Care Act. She identified a growing area of concern and told the story of one West Virginia family that suddenly had to find the cash to cover their daughter’s unexpected pregnancy. Less than a month before the Sandy Hook shootings that shook the country, Michelle explored the issue of doctors’ rights to discuss guns with patients and the effort by some gun advocates to shut down that conversation. She also noted in that column that the Affordable Care Act contained provisions to keep insurers, employers and HHS from collecting data about beneficiaries’ guns.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Michelle uses a variety of sources, all of which are identified in her columns. The hearing aid story had an industry survey and material from industry websites, the emergency room column was prompted by a study published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. She also often scours federal websites to collect data such as Census figures to use in her stories and she often refers back to legislation, such as the Affordable Care Act to confirm details of the law. No FOI or public records requests were used for these columns.
Explain types of human sources used.
One of the hallmarks of Michelle’s columns is that she often finds real people to illustrate the issue — not an easy task in a weekly column about such technical issues. In addition to consumers, these columns quote industry sources, health advocates and/or government officials.
Results:
Michelle’s columns generate a good bit of comment for us. We get e-mails about the columns and also questions from readers for help in their own situations. Michelle often answers those questions in later columns or in a series of videos that we have produced for our website.
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.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
The key to Michelle’s success is her ability to know the insurance industry well, while also writing about it in a clear, explanatory style that omits any jargon. It is not easy, but it is worth striving for.