Winners Named in 20th Annual Journalism and Research Awards

Washington, DC – June 3, 2014 - The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 20th Annual Health Care Journalism and Research Awards. The winners are selected by panels of highly esteemed journalists and researchers.

Print Journalism Award, General Circulation

Winner:
Ellen Gabler, Mark Johnson, John Fauber, Allan James Vestal, Kristyna Wentz-Graff, "Deadly Delays," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This series reveals systemic delays in the processing of infant screenings for rare diseases that, when not diagnosed promptly, may lead to disability and death. As a result of this reporting, dozens of states and numerous hospitals have made strides to address these delays. The judges called the problem “just outrageous” and were impressed that the reporters “tackled a fresh topic area.” They also applauded their “ambitious” endeavor to collect information on hospital procedures from across the country.

Honorable Mention:
Dave Philipps (reporter), Michael Ciaglo (photographer), “Other than Honorable,” Colorado Springs Gazette.

This series exposes a loophole that allows the military to discharge soldiers for misconduct that may be related to war injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder, often severing their veteran’s benefits in the process. The judges said they “couldn’t believe the enterprising reporting” and called the problem “astounding.” They praised the writing and organization of the series, calling it “top-notch work.”

Print Journalism Award, Trade Publication

Winner:
Joe Carlson, “You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For,” Modern Healthcare.

This report features an analysis of newly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on readmissions for a common cardiac procedure, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), finding no consistent relationship between hospitals’ internal costs for performing the procedures and patient outcomes. The judges praised the author’s facility with data and original take on a topic that is “certainly very important.”

Television and Radio Journalism Award

Winner:
Rick Young (Producer/Director), Anthony Szulc (Co-producer/Editor), David E. Hoffman (Correspondent), Emma Schwartz (Associate Producer/Reporter), Fritz Kramer (Associate Producer/Assistant Editor), Lynne Perri (Managing Editor), Charles Lewis (Executive Editor), Andrew Metz (Series Senior Editor), Raney Aronson (Deputy Executive Producer), David Fanning (Executive Producer), “Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria,” FRONTLINE, PBS.

This documentary investigates the alarming rise of drug-resistant infections. Fueled by antibiotic overuse and exacerbated by a failure to develop new drugs, this crisis is now responsible for 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths a year. The judges praised the film’s “impressive access” to sources and “loved the storytelling structure.” They also appreciated the film’s “smart coverage of the accountability question” and its clear call to action.

Research Award

Winner:
Thomas G. McGuire, Jacob Glazer, Joseph P. Newhouse, Sharon-Lise Normand, Julie Shi, Anna D. Sinaiko, Samuel H. Zuvekas, "Integrating Risk Adjustment and Enrollee Premiums in Health Plan Payment,” Journal of Health Economics.

This paper demonstrates the versatility of least squared methods for risk adjustment in individual health insurance markets with enrollee premiums. It finds that least squares methods are the best fit of a payment system to deal with risk and selection and also a solution for setting risk adjustment weights in markets with premiums. The judges called the paper “highly relevant” and “useful” for informing risk adjustment practices in the public health insurance exchanges and Medicare Advantage.

About the Awards

Established in 1993, the awards program recognizes the talented journalists and researchers who serve as catalysts for positive change by advancing and informing public and private policy making. NIHCM's President and CEO, Nancy Chockley, explains, "NIHCM was founded with a mission to provoke new thinking and ideas. Through our awards, we recognize the tremendous contributions made by those in the fields of health care journalism and research who bring these new ideas to light and communicate them to the public." This year's competition brought in nearly 300 entries. The winners were honored at NIHCM's 20th Annual Journalism and Research Awards Dinner on June 2nd in Washington, DC.

About NIHCM

NIHCM Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that funds, conducts and disseminates research on health care financing, delivery, management and policy. The Foundation also hosts events that bring together business leaders, policy makers, researchers and the media to improve understanding of issues affecting the health care system.