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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260317T120000
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CREATED:20260311T172847Z
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UID:62836-1773748800-1773752400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:ACIP meeting countdown: COVID vaccine and what else is at stake
DESCRIPTION:Don’t miss this opportunity to get up to speed before the March 18-19 CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting. This webinar\, co-hosted by the Expert Vaccine Analysis Team and the Association of Health Care Journalists\, will provide independent\, evidence-based discussion of topics expected to come up during the meeting. \n\n\n\nThese items include vaccine safety and quality monitoring\, data on COVID vaccine safety\, possible recommendation votes related to COVID vaccine injuries\, and other issues\, such as the evidence framework the CDC uses to assess vaccine data and the risk/benefit analysis of vaccines. We will also discuss other emerging topics that may arise before the meeting. \n\n\n\nWhether you’re a journalist covering immunization policy\, a public health professional navigating a rapidly shifting vaccine landscape\, or a researcher tracking the latest safety data\, this webinar will help equip you with the scientific context you need to understand what’s at stake. The panel of senior vaccine scientists — including Norman Baylor\, Ph.D.\, Miles Braun\, M.D.\, Fiona Havers\, M.D.\, and Paul Offit\, M.D. — will cut through the noise and offer clear\, unbiased analysis. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases and Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others.  \n\n\n\nShe specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNorman W. Baylor\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nPresident and CEO\, Biologics Consulting GroupDr. Norman W. Baylor is an expert in the development and licensure of new vaccines\, evaluating numerous vaccines throughout his career including vaccines for acellular pertussis\, varicella\, pneumococcal conjugate\, human papillomavirus (HPV)\, influenza and shingles. He is currently the president and CEO of Biologics Consulting Group\, Inc\, where he is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the company. \n\n\n\nPrior to this\, he spent 20 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\, most recently as Director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). In this role\, he oversaw all facets of the clinical and product regulatory review activity\, including quality assurance and oversight of review functions in addition to planning\, developing and administering CBER’s broad national and international programs and operational activities for vaccines and related products. Dr. Baylor served as FDA’s liaison to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices\, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee\, and the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. He served on the board of the Infectious Disease Research Institute and continues to serve as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization on several global vaccine initiatives. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFiona P. Havers\, M.D.\n\n\n\nAdjunct associate professor\, Emory University School of MedicineFiona Havers\, MD\, MHS\, FIDSA\, is an infectious diseases physician and former medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Havers is a senior subject matter expert on vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases and vaccine policy. She was the CDC lead of the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) Team in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division within the U.S. CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Dr. Havers oversaw the COVID-19 and RSV platforms within RESP-NET\, a population-based surveillance platform that covers ~9% of the US population and collects data on COVID-19\, RSV\, and influenza-associated hospitalizations. Dr. Havers left CDC in June 2025.  \n\n\n\nThe author of >100 publications while at CDC\, Dr. Havers’ research interests have focused on the epidemiology\, prevention\, treatment and vaccine policy for vaccine-preventable respiratory pathogens\, including influenza\, pertussis\, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. She was previously the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Work Group lead for the Pertussis Vaccines Work Group and has worked extensively on COVID-19 and adult RSV vaccine policy\, including as senior author on the initial adult RSV vaccine ACIP policy recommendations published in 2023. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nM. Miles Braun\, M.D.\n\n\n\nAdjunct professor\, Georgetown University School of MedicineIn April 2018\, M. Miles Braun MD MPH\, was appointed Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Braun directs a new educational initiative to bring integrative approaches to optimize health and quality of life of adolescent and young adult cancer patients\, survivors and caregivers. Integrative approaches include mind and body practices\, natural products and lifestyle modifications.  \n\n\n\nDr. Braun is board-certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. He served for 20 years as a medical officer in the US Public Health Service (USPHS)\, including at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)\, National Institutes of Health (NIH)\, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he was for more than 8 years Director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He has received more than 20 USPHS awards and authored or co-authored well over 100 scientfic-medical publications\, including multiple studies with important clinical impact and epidemiological studies on the causes of various cancers. Dr. Braun has practiced yoga (including meditation) for 25 years\, is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (RYT200)\, has completed multiple trainings and has extensive personal experience with integrative approaches.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/acip-meeting-countdown-on-demand-webinar/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251119T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251119T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20251030T171007Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251119T214050Z
UID:61531-1763557200-1763560800@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Trust\, public health reporting and the CDC: Insider perspectives
DESCRIPTION:A lot has happened this year at the CDC with walkouts\, layoffs and the disappearance of data and reports\, presenting major challenges for journalists who report on public health. Especially when reporting on infectious disease\, the compromising of the CDC as a source of public health data and up-to-date information about outbreaks has huge implications for public health. But that’s not all that has been lost — not by a long shot. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has also undermined the CDC as a source of trustworthy information about drug use/harm reduction\, autism\, chronic disease and diet. \n\n\n\nAlthough the dismantling of the CDC has cost the country its oldest\, most stalwart resource for public health information\, the CDC diaspora has not vanished in silence. Join us for a conversation with former CDC officials Deb Houry\, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science; Demetre Daskalakis\, former Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; and Daniel Jernigan\, former Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. Moderated by AHCJ Health Beat Leader Tara Haelle\, the discussion will explore: \n\n\n\n\nWhere journalists should turn for the reliable\, evidence-based reporting resources that formerly had a home at the CDC’s web pages.\n\n\n\nWho\, if anyone\, has taken over data collection and communication about infectious disease.\n\n\n\nWhat is missing\, now\, from the national public health picture.\n\n\n\nTheir biggest worries about the potential consequences of the loss of this body of expertise and communication.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases & Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDemetre C. Daskalakis\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nFormer Director\, CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory DiseasesDr. Demetre C. Daskalakis\, M.D.\, MPH\, is a nationally recognized physician and public health leader in infectious diseases and emergency response. He received his B.A. from Columbia\, M.D. from NYU\, and MPH from Harvard\, followed by advanced training at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess and Partners Healthcare. \n\n\n\nDr. Daskalakis has held major leadership roles at the New York City Department of Health\, overseeing HIV\, TB\, STD\, immunization\, and laboratory programs\, and managing responses to measles\, Legionella\, and New York City’s initial COVID-19 outbreak. At the CDC\, he directed the Division of HIV Prevention and later led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases\, where he managed strategies for influenza\, COVID-19\, RSV\, and the transition of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program to commercialization. He played a critical role in national responses to respiratory virus threats and managed high-profile outbreaks including measles and avian influenza\, demonstrating trauma-informed leadership during challenging events like the August 2025 CDC shooting. \n\n\n\nAs Deputy Coordinator of the White House National Mpox Response\, Dr. Daskalakis’s innovative approaches led to a dramatic reduction in daily cases. Throughout his career\, he has championed health equity\, LGBTQ+ health\, and evidence-based policy\, shaping national and global strategies in HIV prevention and vaccination. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDebra Houry\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nFormer Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science\, CDCDebra Houry M.D.\, MPH is a nationally recognized emergency physician and public health leader with more than two decades of experience guiding health care and public health strategy across federal government\, health systems\, and academia.  \n\n\n\nMost recently\, Dr. Houry served as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\, where she oversaw nine national centers and the Office of Science with a combined budget of more than $6 billion. She also served as Acting Principal Deputy Director\, the agency’s most senior leader after the CDC Director\, where she co-led the Moving Forward initiative—restructuring CDC to strengthen preparedness\, data\, and laboratory systems. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDaniel Jernigan\, M.D.\, MPH\n\n\n\nFormer Director\, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases\, CDCDaniel B. Jernigan\, M.D.\, MPH\, recently resigned his position as Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Jernigan completed training at Duke University and Baylor College of Medicine and has completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine.  \n\n\n\nHe entered the CDC in 1994 as an Epidemic Intelligence Officer\, and has been studying respiratory and emerging diseases since that time. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service and was the recipient of the 2019 Service to America Medal.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/11/trust-public-health-reporting-and-the-cdc-insider-perspectives/
CATEGORIES:Event,Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250911T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250911T120000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20250902T205926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250911T203133Z
UID:60891-1757588400-1757592000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Preparing for reporting on autism\, vaccines and related science
DESCRIPTION:Join moderator Tara Haelle and an expert panel — including Paul Offit\, M.D. (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)\, and Jessica B. Steier\, DrPH\, PMP (Founder and CEO of Unbiased Science) — for a webinar that will help reporters navigate the science behind autism\, vaccines\, and the expected Health and Human Services report on autism causes. \n\n\n\nFacilitated by: Jesse Goodman\, M.D.\, MPH\, Chair of the E-VAT — Expert Vaccine Analysis Team. \n\n\n\nDon’t miss this opportunity to get the context and insights you need to report accurately and confidently. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases & Medical StudiesTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious disease\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterMaurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology\, University of PennsylvaniaPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJessica Steier\, DrPH\, PMP\n\n\n\nFounder and CEO\, Unbiased ScienceAn accomplished public health expert specializing in science communication\, Dr. Jessica Steier is committed to providing clients — and the general public — with accurate\, unbiased\, and methodologically sound information. Through her podcast and other public avenues\, she strives to connect citizens with accurate evidence about the forces that affect all of our lives. \n\n\n\nWhile working in both the private sector and academia\, she has built a career founded on providing data-driven solutions in real-world environments and communicating the importance of “old school” scientific values in contemporary education and public discourse. At her professional core\, Steier is dedicated to rigorous scientific inquiry and bettering the health and welfare of communities. \n\n\n\nShe is the CEO of Vital Statistics Consulting (VSC)\, which specializes in health program and policy evaluation using data science and advanced analytics. With a team of expert consultants\, VSC helps its clients improve healthcare outcomes while managing the cost challenges of this demanding sector. \n\n\n\nSteier is also the founder of “Unbiased Science.” It underpins a diverse social media platform dedicated to translating complex scientific concepts into everyday language. The essence of this endeavor is pushing back against the wave of pseudoscience and misinformation that the Internet and other social forces have recently unleashed. Its motto — “No Nonsense\, Just Science” — is meant to capture Steier’s direct and impassioned approach to disseminating technical knowledge in our technologically-driven culture. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFacilitator\n\n\n\n\nJesse L. Goodman\, M.D.\, M.P.H.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Georgetown University COMPASSProfessor of medicine and infectious diseasesChair\, Expert Vaccine Analysis Team (E-VAT)Jesse L. Goodman\, M.D.\, MPH is Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Attending Physician at Georgetown University. He was previously Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota where his laboratory isolated the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis.  \n\n\n\nFrom 2003-2009\, he served as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)\, regulating vaccines\, blood and cell and gene therapies\, and then as Chief Scientist of the U.S. FDA until 2014\, serving in U.S. leadership for numerous public health responses. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served on numerous WHO\, CDC\, NIH\, NAM and other advisory committees and previously served as a member of GSK’s board\, chairing its science committee.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/preparing-for-reporting-on-autism-vaccines-and-related-science/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T150000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20250814T203629Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250819T212318Z
UID:60688-1755612000-1755615600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Reporting on 'sweeps' and the criminalization of homelessness: How to handle the story
DESCRIPTION:The Trump administration is making clear its intention to banish\, arrest or imprison people who are homeless in the nation’s capital\, as well as threatening forced treatment for those struggling with substance use disorders. But front-line workers\, activists and experts are expressing skepticism about this old and failed approach to homelessness.  \n\n\n\nSo what is the state of affairs in D.C.? How are people who work on homelessness responding to the impending campaign\, and what is the likelihood that other cities will take a similar approach? This webinar will equip reporters to cover the story in their own cities and towns with guidance from a national reporter who is covering the D.C. story\, an addiction researcher\, a longtime activist and a journalist who did a year-long project on homelessness. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nKatia Riddle\n\n\n\nHealth correspondent\, NPRFormer AHCJ fellow \n\n\n\nKatia Riddle is a correspondent at NPR covering mental health. She has reported extensively on the impact of events such as Hurricane Helene\, Los Angeles wildfires and the loneliness epidemic.  \n\n\n\nPrior to her current role\, she covered public health including reproductive rights and homelessness. She won a 2024 Gracie Award for a series on reproductive rights\, and was an AHCJ U.S. Health System Reporting Fellow from 2023-2024. \n\n\n\nRiddle lives in Portland\, Oregon with her husband and three kids. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhoto by Nancie Battaglia\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBrian Mann\n\n\n\nNational addiction correspondent\, NPRBrian Mann is NPR’s first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world. \n\n\n\nMann began covering drug policy and the opioid crisis as part of a partnership between NPR and North Country Public Radio in New York. After joining NPR full time in 2020\, Mann was one of the first national journalists to track the deadly spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl\, reporting from California and Washington state to West Virginia. \n\n\n\nAfter losing his father and stepbrother to substance abuse\, Mann’s reporting breaks down the stigma surrounding addiction and creates a factual basis for the ongoing national discussion. \n\n\n\nMann has also served on NPR teams covering the Beijing Winter Olympics and the war in Ukraine. \n\n\n\nDuring a career in public radio that began in the 1980s\, Mann has won numerous regional and national Edward R. Murrow awards. He is author of a 2006 book about small town politics called Welcome to the Homeland\, described by The Atlantic as “one of the best books to date on the putative-red-blue divide.” \n\n\n\nMann grew up in Alaska and is now based in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. His audio postcards\, broadcast on NPR\, describe his backcountry trips into wild places around the world. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKeith Humphreys\, OBE\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nEsther Ting Memorial Professor\, Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesCIGH fellow\, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global HealthKeith Humphreys is the Esther Ting Memorial Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His research addresses addictive disorders and the translation of science into public policy.  In addition to over 400 scientific publications\, he has written extensively for outlets like The Washington Post and The Atlantic. \n\n\n\nDr. Humphreys’ public policy work includes testimonies to U.S. House and Senate Committees\, to the Canadian and U.K. parliaments\, and in many state legislatures. He served on the White House Commission on Drug-Free Communities during the Bush Administration and as Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama. He created and co-directs the Stanford Network on Addiction Policy\, which brings scientists and policy makers together to improve public policies regarding addictive substances. To recognize his service to addiction-related scholarship and policy\, Queen Elizabeth II made him an Honorary Officer in the Order of the British Empire in 2022. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLisa Daugaard\n\n\n\nCo-executive director/policy\, Purpose. Dignity. Action.Lisa Daugaard is Co-Executive Director/Policy at Purpose. Dignity. Action. (PDA)\, formerly the Public Defender Association\, based in Seattle. She joined the Defender Association in 1996 as a public defense staff attorney\, later served in multiple management positions and led TDA’s Racial Disparity Project\, combatting racial discrimination in\, and generated by\, the criminal legal system at the height of mass incarceration\, from 2000-2013.  \n\n\n\nFrom 2001-2008\, Lisa led a successful selective enforcement litigation challenge to drug arrests of Black people in Seattle. The settlement of that litigation effort resulted in an agreement by SPD and the King County Prosecutor’s Office to launch a pilot pre-booking diversion framework for drug offenses\, which came into being in 2011 as the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) model. Lisa was founding Co-Chair of the Seattle Community Police Commission\, & served on the CPC until 2019.   \n\n\n\nIn 2019\, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for work building consensus around community-based responses to illegal behavior related to unmet behavioral health needs and extreme poverty. From 2020-present\, she has helped design and implement JustCARE\, a response to unsheltered homelessness in the Seattle area combining low-barrier entry with non-congregate shelter\, intensive case management\, and aftercare\, that has allowed resolution of over 40 large encampments without dispersal or displacement of individuals to other areas. \n\n\n\nLisa grew up in the Seattle area\, attended the University of Washington\, was an anti-apartheid activist at Cornell University in the mid-1980s while occasionally attending class and earning an MA\, and obtained her JD from Yale Law School (class of 1992). After law school\, she worked in New York City as a fellow at the ACLU National Legal Department\, leading a successful challenge to the first US detention camp at Guantanamo (for HIV-positive Haitian asylum seekers); as Legal Director of the Coalition for the Homeless; and as Organizing Project Director at the Urban Justice Center.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/reporting-on-sweeps-and-the-criminalization-of-homelessness-how-to-handle-the-story/
CATEGORIES:Event,Health Equity,Health Policy,Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://healthjournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Criminalization-of-homelessness-updated-image-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250801T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250801T150000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20250717T200012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250722T145809Z
UID:60334-1754056800-1754060400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:From big picture to local story: Reporting on the impact of the megabill
DESCRIPTION:The 2026 budget act signed into law on July 4 will impact the health of millions of Americans — especially those on Medicaid and other safety net programs including SNAP. How can journalists wrap their arms around these massive changes?  \n\n\n\nPanelists will highlight what aspects journalists should pay close attention to right now and how to use the power of storytelling to make these coming changes real for audiences. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nLara Salahi\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Health EquityLara Salahi is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health equity. She’s an award-winning\, independent health journalist based in Boston\, whose work has appeared in local\, national and international television and digital news outlets. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Endicott College in Beverley\, Mass. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nJoe Burns\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Beat Leader for Health Policy and InsuranceJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others.  \n\n\n\nEarly in his journalism career\, Burns worked as a reporter in Connecticut\, first for The Wallingford Post (a weekly)\, and then The Meriden Record-Journal (a daily)\, and later for The Hartford Courant (the largest daily newspaper in the state and the nation’s oldest newspaper). For The Courant\, he was a reporter\, copy editor and regional news editor. During this time\, he also taught news writing at the University of Connecticut. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoanne Kenen\n\n\n\nJournalist-in-Residence\, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthContributing writer\, Politico MagazineLong-time health reporter on and off Capitol Hill. Oversaw all the health coverage at Politico for about a decade – now I’m a contributing writer to Politico Magazine\, and the Journalist-in-Residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health\, where I also teach. I’m a regular on the KHN “What the Health” podcast. I was AHCJ’s first topic leader (on health reform) and the conferences are a highlight of my year. @JoanneKenen \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKristen Jordan Shamus\n\n\n\nHealth reporter\, Detroit Free PressShamus’ work has taken her across the Mitten State\, the U.S. and to Europe. There\, she covered the stories of children who were evacuated from war-torn Ukraine to eastern Poland. She also led coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on Michiganders.  \n\n\n\nOver the past two decades\, Shamus has worked as a reporter\, an editor and columnist including at the Oakland Press and the News-Herald Newspapers. Shamus was among 20 journalists selected in 2019 for a National Press Foundation fellowship\, was a Mayo Clinic-Cronkite Medical Journalism fellow and a finalist for three consecutive years for the Richard Milliman Michigan Journalist of the Year award from the Michigan Press Association Foundation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKatherine Hempstead\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nSenior policy officer\, Robert Wood Johnson FoundationHempstead works on healthcare issues\, mostly those related to health insurance\, costs\, and access to care\, using data and analyses to illuminate policy discussions at the federal and state levels. She is particularly interested making new sources of data that can inform policy available to researchers and the public sector. Hempstead frequently speaks and writes about health insurance and other healthcare topics. She is also an active researcher\, and has authored numerous articles in the peer reviewed literature.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/from-big-picture-to-local-story-reporting-on-the-impact-of-the-megabill-2/
CATEGORIES:Aging,Event,Health Equity,Health Policy,Insurance,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250521T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250521T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20250501T202845Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250521T204237Z
UID:59425-1747832400-1747836000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Health care in court: A prep session for a big June
DESCRIPTION:Buckle up: The Supreme Court is expected to rule before the end of June in a number of cases with significant implications for health in America. With transgender health care\, Planned Parenthood funding\, preventive care\, and several environmental cases\, among others\, in the balance\, what’s the best way to prepare to cover these important stories?  \n\n\n\nThis webinar will highlight the big cases and point you toward resources and strategies for writing solid court-related stories on deadline. You’ll hear from Chris Geidner\, also known as Law Dork for his Substack newsletter on court happenings\, and Alison Tanner of the National Women’s Law Center. They’ll talk about what to look for\, how to find an expert to help you interpret accurately and other tricks to reporting on the legal stuff with less stress. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nAlice Miranda Ollstein\n\n\n\nSenior health care reporter\, POLITICOAlice Miranda Ollstein is a senior health care reporter for POLITICO\, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. \n\n\n\nHer coverage of state and federal health policy developments on Capitol Hill\, within government agencies\, in the courts\, and on the campaign trail draws connections between decisions made by elected officials and their impact on the ground. She has broken stories on the Covid-19 response\, the strategies of both anti-abortion and pro-abortion-rights groups\, and both the Biden and Trump transitions. \n\n\n\nAlice graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been reporting in D.C. ever since\, covering the Supreme Court\, Congress and national elections for TV\, radio\, print\, and online outlets. Her work has aired on Free Speech Radio News\, All Things Considered\, WAMU and WTOP\, and her writing has been published by Talking Points Memo\, The Atlantic\, and La Opinión. She was elected in 2016 as an at-large board member of the DC Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2017\, she was named one of the New Media Alliance’s “Rising Stars” under 30. She is the author of a forthcoming book on the broader health care impacts of post-Roe abortion restrictions\, set to be published by The New Press. \n\n\n\nAlice grew up in Santa Monica\, California and began freelancing for local newspapers in her early teens. When not working on a story\, she can be found riding her bicycle around the region\, attempting to grow vegetables in her backyard\, and playing with her nephews. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChris Geidner\n\n\n\nLaw DorkChris Geidner is an award-winning journalist who covers the Supreme Court\, law\, and politics at Law Dork. His more than two decades in journalism includes widely recognized coverage of the courts\, LGBTQ issues\, the criminal legal system\, and other complex legal and political questions. \n\n\n\nHe previously worked as the Supreme Court correspondent and legal editor at BuzzFeed News and has written for many publications\, including The New York Times and MSNBC. Among other recognition\, Geidner was named Journalist of the Year by NLGJA\, the LGBTQ journalists’ association\, in 2014.  \n\n\n\nBefore moving to Washington\, D.C.\, in 2009\, Geidner was a practicing lawyer in Columbus\, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law\, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Law Journal. It was in law school that Geidner originally started the Law Dork blog. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlison Tanner\n\n\n\nSenior litigation counsel for reproductive rights and health\, National Women’s Law CenterAlison Tanner (she/her) litigates cases defending and expanding access to reproductive health care\, including emergency abortion care and assisted reproductive technologies.  \n\n\n\nPreviously\, she was a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Steven Gey Constitutional Litigation Fellow at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. She graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center\, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/health-care-in-supreme-court-a-prep-session-for-a-big-june/
CATEGORIES:Health Equity,Health Policy,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250129T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250129T130000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20250114T182714Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250129T230549Z
UID:58087-1738152000-1738155600@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Finding and sharing hospital prices with your audience
DESCRIPTION:In 2001\, the federal Department of Health and Human Services required all hospitals to post the prices they charge patients for services. Many\, but not all\, hospitals have complied with this rule. Still\, finding the actual prices that hospitals charge for 300 non-urgent (called “shoppable”) services is challenging if not impossible for most consumers.  \n\n\n\nThat gives journalists an opportunity to empower consumers by finding and publishing hospital price information and to ensure that hospitals are complying with the now four-year-old federal rule. \n\n\n\nDuring this AHCJ webinar\, journalists will learn to gather price information from hospitals and compare prices among multiple hospitals. You’ll hear from a Colorado journalist who put transparency to the test when she was expecting a baby and learn from two experts about tools and resources you can use to find prices.  \n\n\n\nYou’ll walk away with the ability to find out what hospitals charge\, including what health insurers will pay hospitals and what consumers can expect to pay out of pocket for each service. \n\n\n\nThis webinar series\, supported by the Peterson-Milbank Program on Sustainable Health Care Costs\, covers the affordability of health care by diving into health care cost drivers and looking at solutions. Journalists will learn about ways that states\, employers and other stakeholders can promote affordable health care and will be able to tell these stories in the context of their state and local communities. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Burns\n\n\n\nAHCJ Health Policy Beat LeaderJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others.  \n\n\n\nEarly in his journalism career\, Burns worked as a reporter in Connecticut\, first for The Wallingford Post (a weekly)\, and then The Meriden Record-Journal (a daily)\, and later for The Hartford Courant (the largest daily newspaper in the state and the nation’s oldest newspaper). For The Courant\, he was a reporter\, copy editor and regional news editor. During this time\, he also taught news writing at the University of Connecticut. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPatricia Kelmar\n\n\n\nSenior director\, Public Interest Research GroupKelmar directs PIRG’s health care campaigns\, supports its state offices on state-based health initiatives and works with patient advocates nationwide. Previously\, she worked as a senior policy advisor at the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute\, as an associate state director at AARP New Jersey and as a consumer advocate at NJPIRG. In 2022\, she was appointed to the federal Ground Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKiana Moore\n\n\n\nCEO\, Moore ConsultingKiana Moore is the CEO of Moore Consulting\, in Washington\, D.C. For its clients\, Moore Consulting analyzes data to measure outcomes and Inform health care policy. Those clients include the federal Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research\, the CDC\, CMS\, the National Institutes of Health and the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMegan Wingerter\n\n\n\nHealth care reporter\, The Denver PostMegan Wingerter\, health care reporter for The Denver Post. Wingerter is an award-winning journalist who joined the Denver Post in February 2019 as an education reporter and switched to health in 2020. She previously worked at The Oklahoman\, Kansas News Service\, The Topeka (Kansas) Capitol-Journal and The Muskegon (Michigan) Chronicle. She has won awards for business coverage in Kansas and for column writing in Michigan.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/01/finding-and-sharing-hospital-prices-with-your-audience/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241218T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241218T150000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20241209T184750Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241218T225048Z
UID:57648-1734530400-1734534000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:What Kennedy could do: Reporting on U.S. vaccine policy and the powers of the HHS Secretary
DESCRIPTION:President-elect Trump’s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services\, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\, could significantly impact the perception and uptake of vaccines. Whether he or any of Trump’s other vaccine-skeptical nominees receive Senate confirmation\, signs suggest the incoming administration may attempt to change long-established vaccine policy in the U.S.  \n\n\n\nThis webinar will cover the ins and outs of how vaccines are approved and recommended\, how vaccine injuries are adjudicated and compensated\, and the powers of the HHS Secretary over those procedures. We’ll cover what the secretary has the power to undo\, what checks and balances exist on those powers\, and what the potential consequences of those actions could be. \n\n\n\nLed by AHCJ Health Beat leader for infectious disease Tara Haelle\, this webinar will prepare reporters for anticipating possible policy moves in the new administration. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nTara Haelle\n\n\n\nHealth Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases\, AHCJ \n\n\n\nTara Haelle is AHCJ’s health beat leader for infectious diseases and medical studies. She’s an independent science/health journalist\, author\, speaker\, and photographer. Her work has appeared in the National Geographic\, Scientific American\, Texas Monthly\, Science News\, Medscape/WebMD\, The New York Times\, Wired\, and O Magazine\, among others. She specializes in public health and medical research\, particularly vaccines\, infectious diseases\, maternal and pediatric health\, mental health\, healthcare disparities\, and misinformation. She also covers medical research conferences and edits Long COVID Connection on Medium. Haelle earned a master’s in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin\, and her images have appeared in Texas Monthly\, NPR\, the\, Chicago Sun-Times and elsewhere. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\n\n\n\nDirector\, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education CenterMaurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology\, University of PennsylvaniaPaul A. Offit\, M.D.\, is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine\, RotaTeq\, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165\,000 lives a year. He is also the author of 11 books written for the public about science\, medicine\, and vaccines.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDorit Rubinstein Reiss\, LLB\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nJames Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation\, UC Law San FranciscoDorit Rubinstein Reiss\, LLB\, Ph.D.  is a professor of law and the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). She specializes in vaccine law and policy\, including exemption laws and tort liability related to non-vaccination. She also teaches administrative law and public health law. She published in law reviews\, peer-reviewed journals and blogs on legal and policy issues related to vaccines and co-authored a book on Vaccines Law and Policy with Professor Y. Tony Yang.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/what-rfk-jr-could-do-reporting-on-u-s-vaccine-policy-and-the-powers-of-the-hhs-secretary/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Infectious Diseases,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240924T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240924T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240909T165350Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240924T210625Z
UID:56348-1727182800-1727186400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Hospital mergers and health care price increases: A primer for reporters
DESCRIPTION:Hospital mergers — market consolidation — can lead to health care price increases of anywhere from 3% to 65%\, according to a 2022 RAND Corporation review. The FTC’s director of the Bureau of Economics has said hospitals that merge may charge 40% to 50% more than if they hadn’t merged. \n\n\n\nMergers can also result in layoffs and lower tax revenues and have a negative impact on patient care by reducing access to some health care services. With so much research confirming negative effects and as health care prices continue to rise\, what — if anything — can be done to slow market consolidation and/or reduce the harms to patients and local economies? \n\n\n\nJoin New York Times reporter Reed Abelson; health care cost economist Zachary K. Goldman\, Oregon Health Authority; and executive editor of The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition Katie Gudiksen\, University of California San Francisco\, as they explore those questions and talk about what some states\, like Oregon\, have done to try to control cost growth. \n\n\n\nThis series builds on a recent webinar series produced by AHCJ and Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) on the business of health care called “Follow the Money.” Once journalists are trained on how to “follow the money” of health care\, the Peterson-Milbank-supported webinar series will dive into cost drivers and look at solutions. Journalists will learn about ways that states\, employers and other stakeholders can promote affordable health care and will be able to tell these stories in the context of their state and local communities. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nModerator\n\n\n\n\nReed Abelson\n\n\n\nReporter\, New York TimesReed Abelson is fascinated by the changing landscape of American medicine as more doctors and nurses work for hospitals and corporations\, and large health conglomerates account for a greater share of the care we get. Abelson also covers the business of health insurance and how it has changed since the debut of the Affordable Care Act and the increasing privatization of government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Abelson aims to be endlessly curious about how the health care system works — and doesn’t — in the United States. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nZachary Goldman\n\n\n\nHealth care cost economist\, Oregon Health AuthorityZachary Goldman is the health care cost economist at the Oregon Health Authority\, where he has worked for 8 years. He currently focuses on Oregon’s Health Care Market Oversight Program and the Sustainable Health Care Cost Growth Target Program. Prior to joining the Oregon Health Authority\, he was a senior policy specialist at Covered California\, the state-based health insurance marketplace. He also worked for a federally qualified health center as a project manager and later as the clinic administrator.  Zachary earned his Bachelor of Arts degrees from Brandeis University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California\, Berkeley. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKatie Gudiksen\, Ph.D.\n\n\n\nExecutive editor\, The Source on Healthcare Price and CompetitionKatie Gudiksen\, Ph.D.\, is the executive editor for The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition. Dr. Gudiksen is an expert in health care reform and the drivers of health care costs\, with a special interest in market consolidation and state policies to address market power. She has helped draft model legislation to improve state merger review processes and to prohibit anticompetitive terms in contracts between insurers and health systems.  \n\n\n\nHer current work focuses on evaluating the options states have to restrict excessive provider prices\, including cost-growth benchmarks and state public options. Her work has been published in Health Affairs\, Frontiers in Health Services\, the Harvard Journal on Legislation\, and the New England Journal of Medicine\, and covered by media outlet such as the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.  \n\n\n\nShe has successfully worked with various state policymakers and stakeholders by commenting on bill language\, presenting to various state agencies and officials\, testifying as expert witness at state legislative hearings\, and participating in briefings and informational sessions in California\, Nevada\, Connecticut and Oregon. 
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/09/hospital-mergers-and-health-care-price-increases-a-primer-for-reporters/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240827T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240827T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240709T165209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240828T201003Z
UID:54869-1724763600-1724767200@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:How rising health care prices are harming employers and families
DESCRIPTION:Over the past 10 years\, workers’ wages have risen 54% while health care prices have gone up 230% in the U.S. That huge discrepancy means that what consumers spent on health care 10 years ago represented 17% of total compensation compared to 37% now. \n\n\n\nJoin AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Health Policy and Insurance Joe Burns as he talks to Cora Opsahl\, director of the health fund for the Building Service 32BJ labor union in New York City; and Gloria Sachdev\, PharmD\, president and CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana\, about the rising spiral of health care spending and the impact it’s having on employers and families. \n\n\n\nBoth have led fights on behalf of employers over hospital prices. Both see their efforts as part of a growing trend of employers fighting back against rising health care spending\, which leaves businesses with less money for raises and families less money in the bank. \n\n\n\nLearn how to find federal health spending data and real life stories that will help bring this issue alive for your readers. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others. Early in his journalism career\, Burns worked as a reporter in Connecticut\, first for The Wallingford Post (a weekly)\, and then The Meriden Record-Journal (a daily)\, and later for The Hartford Courant (the largest daily newspaper in the state and the nation’s oldest newspaper). For The Courant\, he was a reporter\, copy editor and regional news editor. During this time\, he also taught news writing at the University of Connecticut. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCora Opsahl is director of the 32BJ Health Fund\, a self-funded plan that provides affordable\, comprehensive and innovative health coverage to 200\,000 union members and their families. Opsahl has led the implementation of multiple benefit changes: removing the New York-Presbyterian hospital system and physicians from the network; transitioning to a new pharmacy vendor and pharmacy group purchasing coalition; and implementing an expanded Centers of Excellence program administered by Mount Sinai Health System. These efforts saved over $35 million in 2022. Prior to joining the 32BJ Health Fund\, Opsahl spent 12 years with Express Scripts\, a pharmacy benefit manager\, where she held a variety of roles\, including in Medicare Part D\, strategy and acquisitions\, operations\, and account management. She holds an MBA from Saint Louis University. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGloria Sachdev\, PharmD\, is the president and CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana\, a nonprofit employer-led multi-stakeholder health care coalition. Founded in 2001\, the forum aims to align payment with the value of services provided to employers and patients by focusing on hospital prices and quality\, value-based health benefit and payment and on health policy. Sachdev also is an adjunct associate professor at Purdue College of Pharmacy. She received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Oklahoma and completed a primary residency at the VA in Madison\, Wisc. Also\, she has practiced in primary care physicians’ offices managing patients with chronic diseases and founded a consulting company aimed at integrating clinical pharmacists into team-based health care settings.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/08/how-rising-health-care-prices-are-harming-employers-and-families-2/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240731T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240731T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240730T165923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240730T165927Z
UID:55675-1722430800-1722434400@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Tracking medical debt\, a major cause of personal bankruptcy
DESCRIPTION:Medical debt is a significant issue for well over half of Americans\, according to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. It may be the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. In this workshop\, we’ll discuss sources\, strategies\, and best practices for reporting on medical debt.  \n\n\n\nThis webinar is part of a series produced by AHCJ and Investigative Reporters & Editors that will equip you with the tools you need to tell the story of the big business of health care. The series is free for all journalists\, thanks to the generous support of the NIHCM Foundation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpeakers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnissa Durham is the health data reporter at Word In Black\, where she reports on health care inequities and mental health in the Black community. Prior to working at Word In Black\, she was a general assignment reporter at inewsource and has written for The San Diego Union Tribune\, PBS SoCal\, The Objective\, and Voice of San Diego. Anissa has a bachelor’s degree from National University. In 2024\, she produced Life or Debt\, a 3-part drug price series which explores the ways Black American’s living with chronic disease are forced to manage an expensive health care system. And in 2023\, she produced the reporting series Lost Innocence: The Adultification of Black Children as a fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and Fact or Fiction: Navigating Health Misinformation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNoam N. Levey is a Washington\, D.C.\,-based senior correspondent for KFF Health News\, where he is currently producing “Diagnosis: Debt\,” a multi-part project on medical debt in the U.S. in collaboration with NPR and CBS News. Noam joined KFF Health News in 2021 after 17 years at the Los Angeles Times\, the last 12 as the paper’s national healthcare reporter based in Washington. He has reported on healthcare issues from more than three dozen states and four continents and won numerous honors\, including a Loeb award and two NIHCM awards\, one in 2020 for his series “Inside America’s High-Deductible Revolution” and one in 2023 for “Diagnosis: Debt.” Noam has also been published in Health Affairs\, JAMA and Milbank Quarterly. He started his career at newspapers in Duluth\, Minn.\, Montgomery\, Ala.\, and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to the LA Times\, Noam was an investigative reporter for the San Jose Mercury News. Noam has a degree in History and Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/event/tracking-medical-debt-a-major-cause-of-personal-bankruptcy/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240521T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240422T212837Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240521T204931Z
UID:53440-1716296400-1716300000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Follow the Money: Uncovering insurers’ confidential clauses that hit patients in the pocketbook
DESCRIPTION:New York Times investigative reporter Chris Hamby and STAT reporter Bob Herman\, who covers the business of health care\, will be featured in a May 21 webinar on how journalists can report on the hidden and lucrative alliances health insurers have with cost-containment companies\, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and employee benefits consultants. The webinar is the second in a collaboration between The Association of Health Care Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and is being offered as part of the organizations’ “Follow the Money” series\, with financial support from NIHCM.  \n\n\n\nIn April\, Hamby reported that MultiPlan\, a company in New York City that helps health insurers keep costs down\, and its health insurer clients have a large and mostly hidden financial incentive to cut payments for policyholders’ claims as much as possible. The result can be patients paying more than they would otherwise.  \n\n\n\nAfter doing a year-long investigation\, Herman reported last year on a largely hidden flow of money among employee benefit consulting companies\, PBMs and health insurers. Those funds went from PBMs and health insurers to the benefit consulting companies\, driving up health care and prescription drug spending for employers\, workers and their families\, Herman wrote.  \n\n\n\nDuring this webinar\, hosted by AHCJ health policy beat leader Joe Burns\, Hamby and Herman will discuss the tools and outline the tips and strategies they used to uncover these hidden agreements and how all health care journalists can report on this important story. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChris Hamby is an investigative reporter at The New York Times. While working at the Center For Public Integrity\, Hamby won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for his series of stories on coal miners and was later awarded the Lukas Prize to develop his reporting into a book. He was also a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his work on multinational corporations and their violations of domestic regulations and environmental law. He lives in Washington\, D.C. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBob Herman is a business of health care reporter at STAT. He covers hospitals\, health insurance\, and other corners of the industry — with a goal of explaining and shining light on the massive amount of money flowing through the system. Prior to joining STAT in 2022\, he covered the health care industry at Axios for more than five years. He also previously was an editor and reporter covering health insurance and hospitals at Modern Healthcare. Bob and his family are based in Indiana\, so naturally he has a deep love for all things basketball.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/05/follow-the-money-uncovering-insurers-confidential-clauses-that-hit-patients-in-the-pocketbook/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240327T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240327T140000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240206T165820Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240327T210234Z
UID:51456-1711544400-1711548000@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Follow the Money: Using HospitalFinances.org and other tools to tell important stories
DESCRIPTION:This webinar is the first in a four-part series produced by AHCJ and Investigative Reporters and Editors that will equip you with the tools you need to tell the story of the big business of health care. Longtime AHCJ member Karl Stark\, Director of Content Strategy & Editor in Residence at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania\, will show you how to use AHCJ’s hospitalfinances.org site and other tools to report stories about hospitals’ financial health.  \n\n\n\nThe series is free for all journalists\, thanks to the generous support of the NIHCM Foundation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKarl Stark is the Director of Content Strategy & Editor in Residence at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania\, where he focuses on encouraging LDI Fellows to write for the public. Before joining LDI\, he worked for more than three decades at the Philadelphia Inquirer\, where he served as Health Editor\, Business News Editor and National/Foreign Editor\, among other positions. His reporting on the bankrupt Allegheny health system helped lead to indictments of the top three executives. He also served as President of the Association of Health Care Journalists\, the nation’s leading group of health reporters and editors. He is a co-author of AHCJ’s “Covering the Quality of Health Care – A Resource Guide for Journalists” and leads a session on covering hospital finances at AHCJ’s annual meeting. He is a graduate of Yale University where he played varsity tennis. He also has distant memories of skating competitively with his sister Julie.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/03/follow-the-money-using-hospitalfinances-org-and-other-tools-to-tell-important-stories/
CATEGORIES:Health Equity,Health Policy,Webinar
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240124T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240124T130000
DTSTAMP:20260501T031410
CREATED:20240108T204458Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240124T210507Z
UID:50363-1706101200-1706101200@healthjournalism.org
SUMMARY:Coverage 101: Using the new state media guides to write big stories
DESCRIPTION:All AHCJ events are listed in Eastern Standard Time. \n\n\n\nThe United States has a patchwork system of health insurance coverage that leaves some people with great access to services and some with no coverage at all. It depends on a person’s birthplace\, age\, job\, income\, location\, and health status.To help journalists make sense of the confusion\, Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms — with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — has created primers for how insurance works in each state plus a national overview that offers the big picture. You can find the guides and overview now on AHCJ’s website.In this webinar\, AHCJ Health Beat Leader Joe Burns\, who focuses on health policy and insurance\, will talk to Charles Ornstein of ProPublica and Sabrina Corlette\, J.D.\, who led the Georgetown project\, about the new tool and how to make the most of it in your reporting. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Burns is AHCJ’s health beat leader on health policy and insurance. He’s an independent journalist based in Brewster\, Mass.\, who has covered health care\, health policy and the business of care since 1991. Burns has written for a variety of publications\, including The New York Times\, Fortune\, Hospitals & Health Networks\, and Medical Economics\, among others. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSabrina Corlette\, J.D.\, is a research professor\, founder\, and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.  There\, she directs research on health reform issues\, with a focus on state and federal regulation of private health insurance. She provides expertise and strategic advice to individuals and organizations on health insurance laws and programs and provides technical support through the publication of resource guides\, white papers\, issue briefs\, blog posts and fact sheets. She has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress and is frequently quoted in the news media on emerging health care issues. She has published dozens of papers relating to the regulation of private health insurance and health insurance marketplaces. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCharles Ornstein is managing editor for local initiatives at ProPublica\, overseeing the nonprofit news organization’s regional offices and its Local Reporting Network. From 2008 to 2017\, he was a senior reporter covering health care and the pharmaceutical industry at ProPublica\, and then worked as a senior editor and deputy managing editor. Prior to joining ProPublica\, he was a member of the metro investigative projects team at the Los Angeles Times and a reporter at the Dallas Morning News. Ornstein is a past president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and an adjunct journalism professor at Columbia University. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
URL:https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2024/01/coverage-101-using-the-new-state-media-guides-to-write-big-stories/
CATEGORIES:Health Policy,Webinar
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