NIHCM Awards $500,000 to Journalists Covering Affordability, AI in Health Care, Health Equity, Prescription Drugs, and More

Washington, D.C., January 30, 2024 - The NIHCM Foundation’s 2024 cohort of Journalism grantees includes veteran media outlets, nonprofit newsrooms, and highly-respected organizations specializing in educating journalists. Grantee projects target key issues for health care consumers, providers, and industry leaders. The new projects will uncover and document stories that promise to spur innovation and inform policies to improve health and health care. The NIHCM Foundation’s journalism and research grants give $1 Million in support each year.

“The 21 grantees we have selected this year are trusted media organizations producing high impact work nationally and in underserved local markets. We are pleased to support their important investigations into rising care costs, private equity investment in health care, barriers to health equity, and other topics. Our education grantees will prepare journalists to cover some of the most challenging issues in health care – from the role of artificial intelligence to consolidation,” said Nancy Chockley, Founding President and CEO of NIHCM.

The NIHCM Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to transforming health care through evidence and collaboration.

Health Care Reporting

The Conversation - The Drivers of Health Care Costs, Their Impacts & Solutions
The cost of health care continues to climb. Drawing on the latest research, this extensive series will report what this means for the health care system and health care consumers.

Vox - Private Equity’s Takeover of American Health Care
Private equity investment is dramatically changing several aspects of health care. This project will explore the possible impact on costs, care quality, and other factors.

Health Affairs - Value-Based Care & Health Equity
Current research suggests that value-based care can advance health equity. This research-based series will explore the opportunities and challenges posed by various approaches to paying for health equity.

Harvard Public Health magazine – Improving Data Practices to Improve Health Outcomes
Data is key to transforming health care. In this series of articles, Harvard Public Health magazine will focus on how data is gathered, shared, and used to improve health outcomes, especially for underserved communities.

Outlier Media- Cost Barriers to the Sickle Cell Cure
The new gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease holds great promise. This project will analyze the possible challenges associated with making the treatment accessible.

Power News Radio Network - Health Issues in Communities of Color
This grant supports ongoing, solutions-based radio broadcasts on health issues that impact communities of color. The series is broadcast on community stations nationwide.

ABC News – Investigating Practices in Crisis Mental Health Care
Hospital management companies often determine who gets mental health care. This project will explore how those practices impact patients.

American Public Media Research Lab - Misplacement of Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses in Nursing Homes
Increasingly, people living with serious mental illness are placed in nursing homes. This project will quantify this trend and examine whether these homes are the best environments for people with serious mental health issues.

Mindsite News - New Approaches to Mental Health Care
The Solutions Lab will produce stories on new ways to address critical mental health needs including the use of peer support specialists, community health workers, and expanded use of telehealth and outreach in rural communities.

Cheryl Platzman Weinstock/KFF Health News - Disparities in Mental Health Care & Suicide Prevention
Nationwide, there is a mental health crisis among young people and adults. This reporting series will provide coverage of ongoing issues on how care is provided to this population.

Healthcare Triage - Prescription Drug Pricing
Many factors have contributed to skyrocketing drug prices. This video series will examine current issues linked to the prescription drug market.

MedPage Today - Ozempic: Weighing the Risks and Benefits
As the popularity and use of a new class of weight loss drugs increases dramatically, this project will look at the long-term implications on population health.

Pharmanipulation - PharmedOut, at Georgetown University Medical Center - Battling Drug Industry Influence
This podcast series will examine the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on what consumers and health care providers believe about medicine and health.

Tradeoffs Podcast - Generic Drugs at a Crossroads
Nine in 10 prescriptions in the U.S. are now filled with generic drugs, but questions loom about the cost, quality, and availability of these medications. This podcast series will explore those problems and potential solutions.

Educating Journalists

Association of Health Care Journalists & Investigative Reporters and Editors - Training Reporters to Cover the Business of Health Care
This new webinar series will train journalists to understand the complex information needed to produce in-depth reporting on topics such as health care costs, affordability, and hospital financing.

The Gerontological Society of America - Journalists in Aging Fellows Program - The Economics of Aging: Impact on Care Costs
This project educates reporters about issues related to aging such as models of health care delivery and the economic shifts associated with our aging population to help produce high-quality reporting that informs policy.

The Journalist’s Resource, a project of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
This grant will support the Center’s resources on topics such as research on health care affordability, health equity, hospital consolidation, and artificial intelligence.

The Poynter Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation & KFF Health News - AI in health care, and long-term care policy
In two webinars, the Kaiser Family Foundation, KFF Health News, and Poynter will partner to examine how AI is changing health care, and explore the looming crisis in long-term care.

USC Annenberg School for Communication, Center for Health Journalism - Webinar Series
The Center will present a webinar series featuring leading experts and journalists with a focus on health care costs, quality, and equity.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation – Advancing the Quality of Health Reporting
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation - Health Coverage Fellowship will continue to enhance the media’s reporting on health care.

Documentary Promotion

The New Yorker, Frankly Speaking Films - Disability & Caregiving - Holding Moses
This grant will support outreach events for an Oscar® shortlisted documentary that encourages medical professionals to act with cultural humility and sensitivity towards those with disabilities and their families.