SABEW 2015 Health Care Economics Symposium

PHOENIX – Sixteen journalists from across the United States have been selected as fellows for SABEW’s fourth annual Health Care Symposium sponsored by The Commonwealth Fund.

The group will gather Nov. 8-10 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on the campus of the American Institute for Economic Research to discuss the rising cost of health care as well as new data on health care economics. The symposium opens during enrollment season for millions of Americans who get health coverage through private insurance or through exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

View the SABEW Health Care Symposium Agenda.

The symposium is a continuation of SABEW’s relations with The Commonwealth Fund to educate journalists and to provide training on health care costs and coverage. To learn more about the rising cost of health care in the U.S., see this latest news from The Commonwealth Fund here.

The 2015 Health Care Fellows are:

  • Ken Alltucker, health reporter, The Arizona Republic
  • Giles Bruce, health reporter, The Times of Northwest Indiana
  • Tracy Cook, reporter, (Columbia) Missourian
  • Daniel Chang, health care reporter, The Miami Herald
  • Gail DeGeorge, writer/researcher, SAGE Business Researcher
  • Richard Eisenberg, managing editor and senior Web editor, Money & Security and Work & Purpose channels, PBS Next Avenue
  • Dianne M. Finch, freelance writer, visiting professor, Elon University
  • Holly Fletcher, health care business reporter, The Tennessean
  • Christine Giordano, freelance journalist, New York
  • Elizabeth Hayes, reporter, Portland Business Journal
  • Glenn Howatt, health care reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune
  • Samantha Liss, reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  • Elizabeth O’Brien, retirement reporter, MarketWatch
  • Leia Parker, managing editor, Silicon Valley Business Journal
  • Dorianne Perrucci, freelance personal-finance reporter, New Jersey
  • Doug Whiteman, assistant managing editor, Bankrate

“SABEW congratulates the 2015 fellows who will be immersed in training to raise the quality and visibility of health care reporting. Through this symposium, we hope to increase the public understanding of complex health care issues,” said Kathleen Graham, the organization’s executive director.

Speakers will include Cathy Schoen, executive director of The Commonwealth Fund Council of Economic Advisors; Abe Dunn, health care economist for the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; Steve Adams, president of the American Institute for Economic Research; Erin Fuse Brown, assistant professor of health care law, Georgia State University; Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, health care reporter, The Boston Globe; as well as the research team of Kevin Lucia and Justin Giovannelli of the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute and Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute.

The conference is being organized by Marty Steffens, SABEW chair in business and financial reporting at the University of Missouri. “Americans are signing up for their health insurance right now, through their employers and exchanges. Costs are going up, and that makes those decisions tougher. This conference will look at the real picture of health care economics, and prepare journalists to write stories to help citizens make better decisions.”

SABEW is the world’s largest organization dedicated to business and financial journalism. For more information go to SABEW.org.

The Commonwealth Fund is a national, private foundation based in New York City that supports independent research on health care issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy.  For more information go to commonwealthfund.org.

Best in Business Book Awards

Official Media Partner

BIB Book Awards Sponsors

Exclusive Sponsor
Investing & Personal Finance category

Exclusive Sponsor
Business & Reporting category

Official Content Distributor