Supporting a Health Care Cost Beat at ProPublica

This project would expand on ProPublica’s ability to focus on health care cost issues by establishing a health care cost beat for two years, with the majority of grant funds supporting a freelance reporter’s salary. Topics may include health plan and pharmacy benefit manager incentives that drive higher costs and the shifting of profits within vertically integrated companies from regulated to unregulated subsidiaries. The resulting projects would be published on ProPublica’s website, included in its newsletters, and featured on its social media platforms. Major stories are enriched by multimedia, including interactive graphics, video, and audio and are supported with aggressive communications efforts by ProPublica’s Expanded Audiences team.