Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Author(s)
By Ryan White

Los Angeles Times health reporter Anna Gorman believes first person health stories can be appropriate. That's why she shared about her deeply personal decision too undergo breast and ovarian surgeries to dramatically lower her own cancer risk.

Author(s)
By William Heisel

One of the most powerful U.S. government agencies is bungling its public duties by planning to remove information about hospital-acquired conditions measurements from a website that allows patients to see how hospitals stack up against the national average.

Author(s)
By Anthony Advincula

As the Medicaid expansion became a higher priority for lawmakers, two state bills that would eliminate a five-year waiting period to access a public health insurance program for at least 20,000 lawfully residing poor children failed to pass this year.

Author(s)
By William Heisel

After Kentucky Kernel reporter Aaron Smith directly called two other students to confirm a rumor and reported their status as new walk-on basketball players in the newspaper, the University of Kentucky barred Smith from covering the school’s annual event where reporters interview team members.