Healthcare Brew is green with envy that we didn’t write these stories

Co-comparison is killing us slowly. Our venerable colleagues have produced great work this year, and some standouts have made us here at Healthcare Brew envious we didn’t write them ourselves. We hope you read these stories—and that our pieces make another publication’s list in 2023 (we’re looking at you, Bloomberg).

Centene showers politicians with millions as it courts contracts and settles overbilling allegations by Samantha Young, Andy Miller, and Rebecca Grapevine (Kaiser Health News)

Somehow KHN made Medicaid overbilling sound sexy. This deep dive into Centene, “the nation’s largest private managed-care provider for Medicaid,” shows how the company has maintained good relationships with politicians as it looked to keep its market share and settle overbilling allegations. I love how the story details the hold political donations have on our healthcare system.—AE

‘It was stolen from me’: Black doctors are forced out of training programs at far higher rates than white residents by Usha Lee McFarling (Stat)

There’s a lot of talk about boosting the number of Black students enrolling in medical schools, but there’s not so much discussion around why Black physicians disproportionately do not complete residency—i.e., they’re “constructively discharged,” per the Texas Workforce Commission, because their workplaces are so hostile toward them. I love the reporter’s storytelling ability and their use of sharp, poignant quotes from Black doctors regarding their residency experiences.—MA

Endgame: How the visionary hospice movement became a for-profit hustle by Ava Kofman (ProPublica)

ProPublica’s unblinking, compassionate look at an industry that uncomfortably reminds us of our own mortality couldn’t have come at a more poignant time. The story shows how rampant fraud and malpractice have upended a “crusade to provide death with dignity.” But what truly makes this piece is how the reporter handled such a difficult, heavy lift with so much grace and flourish.—MS