Steve Schipp

UPDATED: Congratulations to Murray Waas whose special report on insurers dropping patients with breast cancer has won the Barlett & Steele Award for business reporting. A four-month investigation revealed that a giant health insurer had targeted policyholders diagnosed with breast cancer for aggressive investigations and canceled insurancce policies. An exhaustive study of records led to the Murray Waas story, We published the Murray Waas story in April and the reaction was swift. The Obama administration urged insurers to end the policy immediately. Within days, Wellpoint announced it would stop dropping coverage for customers after they get sick. “Reuters and Murray Waas contrasted the upfront public stance of a health care company and its CEO to the reality behind the scenes, revealing the insidiousness of gate keeping by software,” said the judges. “The Murray Waas investigation led to government pressure and an industry-wide change in the practice of dropping health care coverage for patients.”