An Honor For A Fine Journalist

I’ve never believed for a second that it’s easy to be a reporter covering the healthcare beat.  Whether it’s new HIPAA privacy requirements or a seemingly arcane topic like medical loss ratios that will actually affect a whole range of healthcare activities, these journalists have to absorb a great deal of complex material and make it understandable and interesting for their readers, viewers and listeners. 

One of the best at doing this is Marilyn Werber Serafini of the National Journal.  I’ve known Marilyn for several years and have not only found her to be impeccably fair and accurate in her reportage, but she has that rare ability to dive down into the murky waters of health policy minutiae and emerge with compelling and insightful pearls for her readership.

I’m sharing my admiration for her work because Marilyn was just selected by the Kaiser Family Foundation as its first Robin Toner Distinguished Fellow, an honor named after the talented New York Times health policy reporter who passed away from cancer in 2008.  As part of her selection, Marilyn will be working with the Kaiser News Service on articles surrounding health policy and politics and the implementation of health reform.

It’s a fine choice by the Kaiser Family Foundation and a benefit to the readers of Kaiser News Service, which has already assembled a very talented and experience staff of healthcare journalists.