In covering the health care workforce beat, just reporting a simple number detailing the size of provider shortages or surpluses can be very misleading, explains researcher Susan Skillman in this tip sheet.
Health Insurance and Costs
Only two of 103 listings were accurate, according to a Sarasota Herald-Tribune survey.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a universally-supported bill to bring dentists to underserved communities last year, despite the strong need for more dental care providers.
Local communities and the federal government prioritize dental care, but Florida's state agencies don't have much to offer, according to a special series in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
In Florida dental practices serving lots of Medicaid patients, parents are often barred from appointments.
A long-awaited decision by regulators appears to be imminent on the proposed merger between Cottage Health and Sansum Clinic, which has the largest physician practice in the area with 23 outpatient sites spanning Santa Maria to Santa Barbara.
“We expected to find a larger difference between plans on and off the exchange,” said researcher Simon Haeder. “In both cases, it was very unlikely to get an appointment.”
The secretive world of pharmaceutical pricing is mired in opacity. To investigate how pricey drugs are impacting California’s budget, reporter Pauline Bartolone found she had to be creative, flexible and persistent in her data sleuthing.
The goal of health care spending is to achieve good health results, and that requires measuring and rewarding success. Unfortunately, the measures likely to be used for the next stage of health reform won’t get us there.
Variation in C-section rates has been well explored, but journalistically, there is much more to do: What is the impact on women from these surgeries? What are the costs? What strategies are working to reduce rates?