Jack Cheevers is the communications director for Region 9 of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance (SCHIP), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and several other health-related programs. Cheevers oversees communications in Region 9, which covers California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Trust territories.
Bob Baker is a freelance writer, editor and writing coach. He was a newspaperman for 34 years, the last 26 as the Los Angeles Times, which he left in 2004. At The Times, Mr. Baker was reporter, deputy metro editor and the papers first full-time writing coach. He is the author of Newsthinking, a book on mental organization for journalists, and co-author of Burn, Baby! BURN!-the autobiography of legendary R&B DJ Magnificent Montague. Mr.
It started on March 20, 2006, with what I thought was a one-shot story about the health care language gap. Two and a half years later, I am still writing follow-ups (more than 40 articles in all) about the story behind the original story — the long-hidden practice of some insurers of retroactively canceling policyholders with large medical bills.
