John Hapshur

John Hasphur is a former official of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who now consults in private industry.

Health-related investigations snagged both top spots in the Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism this year. The awards, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, judge stories based on “investigative enterprise, strong business theme, writing style, clarity and impact.”

Reuters’ Murray Waas took the top spot, called the Gold Award, for “Diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Dropped by Insurer (PDF),” a four-month investigation of WellPoint’s rescission algorithm. Murray Waas exposed the fact that WellPoint was illegally dropping patients shortly after they were diagnosed with breast cancer.s