The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "health insurance" ...
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Questionable Coverage
“Questionable Coverage” was a hidden camera investigative report about systematic health insurance scams affecting victims in nearly every state. As a direct result of our reporting, two companies ceased operations, a third has been sanctioned, and insurance regulators in Georgia and New York have launched their own investigations into the fraud.
Tags: health insurance; scams; fraud; hidden cameras
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Critical Condition
The story is a revealing look at three American famliesa s they struggledwith their health insurers over coverage of expensive, but potentially life-saving treatment.
Tags: health care; health insurers; insurance
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"Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences"
This investigative piece looks at worker safety issues that affect "the nation's healthcare providers." Health care employees are often put in harms way by handling drugs that are meant to save the "lives of cancer patients," but can be "human carcinogens," too. This report shows that regulation on exposure to these types of drugs in the workplace is weak.
Tags: FOIA; health insurance; Occupational Safety and Health Administration; cancer; OSHA; drugs; chemotherapy
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Deception of the Desperate
The WSMV investigation "exposed how a Nashville-based company was deceiving people all across the country who were desperate for insurance. Many of these customers had serious illnesses, like AIDS and cancer, and could not get full coverage insurance. They found the company was telling consumers they were getting full coverage insurance, when in fact they were buying basic discount cards that barely paid any of their expenses. "
Tags: insurance; fraud; consumer safety; medical insurance; health insurance
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"Insurer Targeted HIV Patients to Drop Coverage"
In this four-month investigation, reporter Murray Waas reveals that the prominent insurance company WellPoint was targeting "policyholders recently diagnosed with breast cancer for the wrongful and sometimes illegal termination of their health insurance." Waas interviews several women whose insurance policies were terminated based on "flimsy or questionable evidence." Similarly, the insurance company Fortis was found to be targeting recently diagnosed HIV patients.
Tags: cancer; HIV; breast cancer; Fortis; WellPoint; insurance; United Health Care; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Obama
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60 Billion Dollar Fraud
“Medicare Fraud, a crime that steals an estimated $60 billion a year from the American taxpayer”. Medicare stated they were made efforts to crack down on the fraud, but this investigation proved otherwise. This investigation revealed how easy Medicare fraud is and that zero experience can still result in thousands of dollars from Medicare.
Tags: health care; medical; medicine; officials; federal government; Congress; system; insurance; plan; doctors; hospitals; benefits
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Medicare Fraud: The New Cocaine Cowboys
Medicare Fraud has become one of the largest organized crimes in America. The investigation revealed that it costs “US taxpayers $60 billion in fraudulent Medicare benefits filed every year”. As a result of the first story, many groups moved in to initiate new laws, which would regulate Medicare and who gets the money.
Tags: 60 Minutes; Department of Health and Human Services; congressional; health care; medical; medicine; schemes; insurance; clinics; system
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"Buffalo economic development agency scandal"
The News exposed numerous economic blunders by members of Buffalo's economic development agency. The use of anti-poverty funds for employee health insurance perks and BlackBerry devices are just some of the misuses of city finances. The city also financed a failed restaurant that was owned by a "former pro basketball player" with the anti-poverty funds.
Tags: Leonard Stokes; Michelle Barron; Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp.; Byron W. Brown; Brian C. Davis; Brian Reilly
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Failure to Inform
“Doctors at dialysis clinics have failed to inform thousands of patients about kidney transplantation, an oversight that could shorten their lives and cost taxpayers millions of dollars a year”. Many patients start dialysis without hearing the benefits of a kidney transplant. The benefits being about 10 years put on your life and saving the federal Medicare program “thousands of dollars a patient”. This series uncovered money plays a large role when prescribing patients on dialysis rather than getting a transplant.
Tags: medicine; health care; medical; costs; kidney disease; taxpayers; debilitating; insurance; treatments
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"Wombs for Rent"
The U.S. is one of the only developed countries that allows surrogacy, though the laws differ across the states. Taking an in-depth look into the world of commercial surrogacy, Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann find the current system leaves a lot of room for "deceit and fraud." They follow one woman through the surrogacy process and reveal a number of problems, including health insurance fraud.
Tags: surrogacy; SurroGenesis; Tonya Collina; Sarah Jessica Parker