A look at some of our favorite reporting from the past year

We aren’t too proud to admit there’s a lot of reporting from other publications that makes us think, “Well, dang. I wish I’d thought of that!”

Here are some articles we read elsewhere that really resonated with us.

Why young Americans dread turning 26: Health insurance chaos by Elisabeth Rosenthal and Hannah Norman at KFF Health News

This story does a great job breaking down the experience of navigating health insurance as a young adult in America and explaining why it’s such a complex process. I wrote about the Affordable Care Act for our Quarter Century Project this year, and this piece by Rosenthal and Norman does a great job of showing how the act’s policies have played out in real-life scenarios.—MA

How Republicans sidelined the healthcare industry and pushed through historic Medicaid cuts by Daniel Payne at Stat

There were a lot of fascinating and impactful stories this year from Stat and other publications, but this was a thoroughly researched, well-explained analysis of how hospitals’ political influence wasn’t strong enough to stop historic Medicaid cuts.—CC

How do Times health reporters choose experts? by Teddy Rosenbluth at the New York Times

Considering the current challenges around trust in media and science, I thought this piece from the New York Times was really smart. Most readers don’t know what goes into choosing sources and fact-checking, or simply how much reporters deeply care about being responsible and providing good information. I think raising awareness about our processes—which I must say I am proud of our strenuous fact-checking here at Healthcare Brew—is essential to rebuilding that trust.—CM

How Moderna went from pandemic hero to vaccine victim by Jared S. Hopkins and Peter Loftus at the Wall Street Journal

I was actually very jealous of this reporting because this was an idea I had run by the team for our Quarter Century Project, but alas, we did not get there soon enough. It’s been really interesting to watch Moderna go from a household name during the pandemic to being caught up in the mRNA debate fueled by the Trump administration. And the Wall Street Journal did its usual sharp business analysis, making for a compelling read.—NO