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AHCJ U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship

This opportunity is for U.S.-based journalists.

Applications are closed.

A fellowship for supporting big reporting projects.

Issues with the U.S. health care system are often obvious — from large swaths of uninsured residents and junk insurance plans, to high maternal mortality rates and preventable medical errors. But what is at the root of issues like these? What could an equitable health care system look like? 

Through the U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, you can pursue a significant reporting project related to the U.S. health care system at the local, regional and/or national level. 

This fellowship allows mid-career journalists to maintain their regular employment while working on a major project over a 12-month calendar year. You’ll pursue the projects with the support of your newsrooms or arranged outlets, which commit to publish or air the work.

We believe that issues of health equity impact every facet of the health care system, which is why we’re specifically interested in projects focused on health equity. This might include racial disparities within a community, gaps in public health inclusion, unstable housing, insurance access, food insecurity, violence as a health issue, how health care institutions or systems are applying a racial equity lens to their policies and practices or otherwise addressing inequities or disparities, or other examinations of systemic problems that have become so apparent over the last few years.

Guidance is provided by AHCJ mentors through customized seminars on health care systems, conference calls and email consultations. The fellowship covers the cost of attending the seminars and the annual AHCJ conference, as well as a $2,500 project allowance to defray the cost of field reporting, health data analysis and other project-related research. In addition, you will receive a $5,000 fellowship award upon the successful completion of the project.

Expectations

Candidates should be U.S.-based, working journalists who qualify for AHCJ professional membership and have several years’ experience in health reporting. We value and celebrate diversity and the building of a more inclusive journalism landscape, and encourage journalists of all backgrounds and identities to apply.

Each employer (or freelancer’s intended outlet) will be asked to provide a letter of recommendation pledging to support the fellow to:

  • Participate in the fellowship, including attendance at seminars, a conference and workshop.
  • Travel as needed to complete the project.
  • Provide adequate time for the fellow to report and write the project.
  • Provide any editorial and technical support required to publish or air the work by Dec. 31, 2026.
  • Allow AHCJ and The Commonwealth Fund to republish or otherwise make available the completed project as an educational tool, with appropriate credit given to the original outlet. 
  • Include mention of the reporter’s fellowship support in the package or series.

What’s covered

The fellowship provides:

  • Seminar trips, including food, lodging and travel within the United States.
  • A project allowance of up to $2,500 that can be tapped for field reporting trips, data purchases and other approved research expenses.
  • Attendance at the AHCJ annual conference, including travel, lodging and registration.
  • Attendance at your choice of a one-day AHCJ regional workshop, including travel, lodging and registration.
  • One year’s professional membership in AHCJ.
  • A $5,000 fellowship award for the successful completion of the project before the end of the year.

Anticipated schedule

  • January 2026: Fellowship orientation and Seminar 1 (New York City)
  • Spring 2026: Health Journalism 2026 and Seminar 2 (Location to be announced)
  • Fall 2026: Seminar 3 (New York City)

Application checklist

  • Apply early! Applications for the U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship and the International Health Study Fellowship are accepted on a rolling basis, with a deadline of Oct. 10, 2025. Once reviewed, slots will be filled — so early applications are strongly encouraged for your best chance of being selected. (Note: Journalists may apply for both fellowships but can only be selected for one. A new form and proposal need to be completed for each application.)
  • A two-page project proposal outlining your topic, why it’s a good story for your audience, reporting locations, potential sources and how the topic is revelatory as a subject (or novel in its approach). We need to see some evidence of your prior reporting or research on the topic. 
  • Complete the application form, which will include:
    • One sentence overview of your proposal.
    • A paragraph on why you are applying for the fellowship and how it will help your professional development.
    • A paragraph on the impact reporting on this project will have (quantitative and qualitative)
    • A paragraph on the primary audience/demographic for the project (who you’re serving).
  • A current resume.
  • A letter of recommendation from your current employer that addresses:
    • The benefits of the fellowship to you and the news organization’s audience, as well as the employer’s commitment to support the project, including scheduling sufficient time for you to pursue the project. Freelance applicants should submit a letter from an assigning editor that they will provide an outlet for the final project.
  • Your best work sample published or aired during the past 12 months. 

Applications for the U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship and the International Health Study Fellowship are accepted on a rolling basis, with a deadline of Oct. 10, 2025. Once reviewed, slots will be filled — so early applications are strongly encouraged for your best chance of being selected.

Applications are closed.

Questions? Contact Andrea Waner at andrea@healthjournalism.org

Current Fellows

2026

Read the press release.

Investigating why Texas hospitals report hundreds of surgical errors each year, and whether patients can obtain justice under the state’s strict medical malpractice laws.

Investigating why Latino farmworker communities in rural Washington continue to face disproportionately high rates of long COVID, hospitalizations and deaths compared to white residents.

Examining how federal Medicaid (Medi-Cal) funding cuts and disruptions to CDC vaccine policies are affecting health care and immunization access, including COVID-19 vaccines, for youth in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Investigating a nursing home chain to reveal how ownership structures and regulatory oversight influence system fragility and quality of long-term care.

Examining how state lawmakers are diverting hundreds of millions in public funding from community health clinics that provide reproductive care to crisis pregnancy centers with limited services, anti-abortion agendas and minimal oversight.

Past Fellows

2025

Read the press release.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

2024

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A series of stories centered on Minnesota’s biggest health disparities, focusing on how the opioid epidemic has impacted individual immigrant communities and communities of color differently and disproportionately.

A probe of the dangerous gaps in care for youth addicted to opioids that has put their care decades behind that of adults in Washington state.

Highlighting the connection between health literacy and health outcomes in communities of color in Maryland – and the search for solutions.

Connecting the dots underlying Georgia’s maternal mortality crisis and efforts underway to address it.

Investigating the significant decline in childhood vaccination rates in Texas and how communities can restore trust in science.

2023

Read the press release.

2022

Read the press release.

2021

Read the press release.

2020

Morton will investigate suicide data being collected at local, state, and national levels and how existing and innovative data approaches are working to understand and prevent suicides.

Florko will study three states’ unique strategies to eliminate Hepatitis C in prisons.

Martínez will investigate the effects of automation on Missouri’s Medicaid renewals program, which has dropped more people’s coverage than most other states.

Ollstein will examine how state and federal policy changes including the Title X rule are impacting the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections.

Rife will explore Virginia policies that keep geriatric mental health patients locked in state psychiatric hospitals long after they are medically cleared for discharge.

Wiener will examine the roots of California’s mental health crisis and explore possible solutions that may exist elsewhere.

2019

Read the press release.

Alberty will report on Utah’s efforts to point patients to cheaper prescription drugs from other countries and whether they will impact the market.

Blau will examine privatized correctional health care in Georgia, how it evolved and how it compares to other states.

Farmer will focus on the hurdles that can sometimes obstruct quality end-of-life care.

Miller will study what’s driving high rates of infant mortality and preterm birth in pockets of Central Florida.

2018

Read the press release.

Budnick focused on the evolution of the Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan in the age of Obamacare, including enrollment and system performance.

Burge examined the growing specialty of palliative care and how cultural norms, provider training, treatment decisions and economics are all involved in seeking improved life in Americans’ final years, months and days.

Dutton investigated the barriers to effective mental health treatment in rural Idaho and how lack of access is causing serious crises and deaths.

Hardy examined Medicaid in Arkansas, with an emphasis on the costs and benefits of Arkansas Works — the state’s privatized approach to Medicaid expansion.

2017

Read the press release.

Bylander explored how health reform has affected American Indians living on reservations and where health system innovation is occurring in Indian Country.

Goodman’s project examined maternal death in the states, with concentrated comparisons between California and Texas, and how risk assessments and monitoring may vary.

Hawryluk focused on how well Oregon is handling treatment of those addicted to opiates and where gaps may exist in the system.

Mershon’s project focused on how some rural states have maintained competitive insurance marketplaces while neighboring states now offer little choice.

Sable-Smith examined the state of rural hospitals in Missouri and which specific decisions lead some to survive, while others falter and close.

2016

Read the press release.

Diamond focused on health disparities and whether community benefit endeavors help the poorest neighborhoods.

Howatt mapped disparities by Census tract to provide as detailed a picture of neighborhood life expectancy and mortality as possible.

Innes explained how difficult it is to make a well-informed decision in choosing an Arizona hospital, nursing home or assisted-living facility.

The End of Life radio series:

Williams examined access to mental health care for children in Georgia and what a lack of treatment means for families and the state.

2015

Read the press release.

Jurgens focused on the different approaches to health care coverage underway in New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont.

Kliff focused on fatal medical errors and what differentiates hospitals with high and low rates.

Kutscher compared the financial performance of hospitals and hospital systems in Medicaid expansion states and nonexpansion states.

O’Donnell compared health care being provided in neighboring states with and without Medicaid expansion.

Wahlberg focused on how well the organ transplant system is working in Wisconsin.

2014

Read the press release.

Brown studied how primary care physicians are being prepared for a future that puts them at the center of an increasingly complex health landscape.

Pittman compared state Medicaid models and the impact of innovations aimed at improving health care quality while lowering costs.

Gantz examined how Maryland’s unique all-payer system impacts the number, type, quality and financial condition of hospitals in Baltimore.

Morris focused on the status of the primary care infrastructure in rural Mississippi and what it will take to bolster and maintain it in the future.

Butcher reported on the migration of cancer care from physician-owned clinics and community centers to hospital outpatient departments and how it affects patients, oncologists, hospitals and payers, especially Medicare.

2013

Read the press release.

Bavley focused on the trend of large hospitals and health care groups absorbing independent medical practices and likely implications.

Erdmann investigated the health outcomes of people who are either too rural or too poor to access the spectrum of care offered through genetic counseling.

Levey focused on how local-level policy choices impact community health system outcomes.

Meyers examined the scourge of diabetes in her region, cultural and policy influences, consequences and what will be required to change the course of the disease.

Washburn studied what hospital ownership changes mean in terms of access, performance, costs and accountability, as well as how state policy changes will play into the mix.

2012

Read the press release.

George focused on the state of obstetrics services in the Philadelphia area.

Sanger-Katz produced a yearlong series of stories examining the growing pattern of hospital consolidation and its influence on health care costs and the future of health reform.

  • The New Goliaths: The 2010 health law was designed to lower costs. Instead, by encouraging hospitals to merge, it could boost the price of care.
  • Nothing to Smile About: The number of teeth in this country grows, even as the number of dentists shrinks. Guess who gets squeezed out.
  • In Praise of Price-Fixing: Americans face a constant (and often Sisyphean) struggle against health care inflation. Maryland found an answer.
  • The False Promise: Hospitals like Pittsburgh’s UPMC created enough jobs to end the recession. If they keep it up, they’ll wreck the economy.

Worth focused on health care delivery to uninsured undocumented immigrants.

2011

Read the press release.

Lamb examined delays that can leave poor and uninsured patients in hospitals for weeks or even months before they can be discharged to nursing homes or rehabilitation centers.

Allen explored whether transparency about hospital quality improves the quality of care for patients.

Hoban compared North Carolina’s system for treating the mentally ill with those in place in other states and how cuts have affected the systems of care.

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