Steve Raveneal

Within days, one insurer announced it would stop dropping coverage for all customers after they get sick. The very next day, another followed suit, as would most of the health insurance industry in the following days.

Washington-based reporter Murray Waas received top journalistic honors last month for his investigative report about how US health insurer, WellPoint, has been dropping patients after they were diagnosed with breast cancer.

His four-month investigation revealed that a giant health insurer had targeted policyholders recently diagnosed with breast cancer for aggressive investigations and cancelled some policies. An exhaustive study of records, hearings and federal data, as well as dozens of interviews with experts, officials and patients led to the Murray Waas story.

“We published the Murray Waas story in April and the reaction was swift,” said Claudia Parsons, deputy editor for enterprise reporting in the Americas.