As a healthcare beat reporter, 2014 posed the unique challenge of covering the biggest expansion of insurance coverage in nearly half a century while also keeping readers informed about other significant changes across the industry. The launch of a state-run exchange, Covered California, was a huge story, and Chad Terhune provided authoritative and comprehensive coverage on the rollout. He chronicled the struggles of the state marketplace as it coped with cranky computers, overburdened call centers and weak outreach to uninsured Latinos. He kept tabs on premiums and the troubled provider networks. Terhune never lost sight of the consumers for whom all this was no idle concern. His stories were laced with anecdotes, quotes and color that brought these issues to life. Early on, he recognized that nothing was of greater concern to many consumers than how to find and get the doctors they wanted. It turned out to be a crapshoot, for many — as Terhune documented in stories again and again. Directories of doctors were incorrect and out-of-date. Doctors turned away patients — even though they were listed as part of the network. Consumers often were stuck with huge bills as a result. Terhune broke the news in June that regulators were investigating two giant insurers over this matter and did a front-page story in November on the high error rates found by officials. Recognizing the lack of accurate information in one place, Terhune used public records to assemble and publish a statewide database in September of physicians participating in Covered California for 2015. With help from the newsroom data team, Terhune did for readers what the state couldn’t do for its citizens. At year end, he wrote about the financial windfall many hospitals and insurers reaped from the health law, and examined to what extent that Obamacare dividend was being shared with employers and consumers after years of cost shifting. Amid the crush of health-law coverage, Terhune produced other compelling stories from the beat. He had an exclusive story on a whistleblower trial and $10 million settlement involving financial conflicts of interest at a top medical school. Terhune chronicled a new and unusual development in the battle between two major health plans, Anthem and Kaiser. He explained what was driving it and the implications for workers, employers and hospitals.
