About Us
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with policy analysis and polling, KFF Health News is one of the three major operating programs at KFF. KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.
KFF Health News reports on how the health care system — hospitals, doctors, nurses, insurers, governments, consumers — works. In addition to this website, our stories are published by news organizations throughout the country. Our site also features daily summaries of major health care news.
KFF President and CEO Drew Altman is KFF Health News’ executive publisher and wrote this message about KFF Health News when we launched in 2009. KFF Executive Director of Media and Technology David Rousseau is KFF Health News’ publisher.
Learn about our editorial policies.
KFF Health News accepts no advertising and all original content is available to other news organizations and the public free of charge.
Neither KFF Health News nor KFF is affiliated with the health insurance company Kaiser Permanente.
KFF Health News Leadership
Alex Wayne, Executive Editor, previously worked for Bloomberg News, where he led coverage of the Joe Biden and Donald Trump presidencies and reported on health care policy, including the development of the Affordable Care Act. In 2020, he helped manage and edit articles about the coronavirus’ infiltration of Trump’s White House that won the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency. Earlier in his career, Alex reported on health care, immigration, Social Security, and other topics for Congressional Quarterly, and covered local and state government for the News & Record of Greensboro, North Carolina. He started his journalism career in Florida at The Villages Daily Sun, where he reported on local businesses, government, and some pretty wacky crimes. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida.
Meet the rest of the KFF Health News staff.
National Advisory Committee
KFF Health News has a distinguished National Advisory Committee whose members are:
- Chairman: Leonard Downie Jr., the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Arizona State University; former executive editor, The Washington Post.
- Jim Brady, vice president of journalism, the Knight Foundation; CEO, Spirited Media; and former editor-in-chief, Digital First Media.
- Justin Ellis, projects editor for Defector Media; former senior editor, ESPN; TV production credits include “How to Fix a Drug Scandal” on Netflix and “Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas” on HBO.
- Mark Katches, editor, Tampa Bay Times; former editor of The Oregonian and former editorial director for the Center for Investigative Reporting and California Watch.
- Anne Kornblut, vice president of global curation, Facebook/Meta; former associate editor, The Washington Post.
- David Leonhardt, New York Times columnist and author of the daily “The Morning” newsletter; founding editor of “The Upshot” and former New York Times D.C. bureau chief.
- Diana Mason, senior policy service professor and co-director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement, George Washington University School of Nursing.
- Arlene Morgan, assistant dean, Lew Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University; former associate dean, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
- Tom Rosenstiel, novelist and visiting professor on the Future of Journalism, University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism; former executive director, American Press Institute.
- Evan Smith, senior adviser, Emerson Collective; former CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune.
Emeritus Advisers
- Karen Dunlap, former president and trustee of the Poynter Institute.
- Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
- Kevin Klose, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, and former president of National Public Radio.
- Bill Kovach, founding chairman of Committee of Concerned Journalists; former executive editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Charles Lewis, founding executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.
- Kevin Merida, executive editor, Los Angeles Times; former senior vice president, ESPN and editor-in-chief, The Undefeated; former managing editor, The Washington Post.
- Cathy Trost, chief engagement officer, Freedom Forum; founding director of the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families.
- Irving Washington, senior fellow for health disinformation, KFF; former executive director/CEO, Online News Association.
Republish KFF Health News Stories and Photos
All original KFF Health News material — articles, graphics, videos, and some photos — can be used free of charge, if you credit us and link to us. Our stories appear in The Washington Post, USA Today, The New York Times, Politico, The Atlantic, Fortune, the Daily Beast, and many other publications. KFF Health News also has a continuing partnership with NPR and public radio stations around the country.
Additional Funders
As an editorially independent program of KFF, KFF Health News’ work and core operations are part of KFF’s general operating budget and are primarily supported through investment returns from KFF’s endowment, as are all of KFF’s major operating programs. KFF is a Public Charity and its tax forms are available through Guidestar for The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. KFF also receives financial support for KFF Health News from foundations and other partners to expand our work. KFF seeks and accepts outside funding only from sources who will not in any way compromise our independence or mission. Questions about funders or funding policies can be directed to David Rousseau, KFF Health News’ Publisher.
External support for KFF Health News includes:
Arnold Ventures: coverage of federal and state health policy, women’s reproductive health care issues, and general operating support.
California Health Care Foundation: coverage of health policy news in California.
California Wellness Foundation: support for our work with California ethnic media.
Dogwood Health Trust: coverage of rural health care issues from western North Carolina.
Doris Duke Foundation: coverage of changes in federal health research funding agencies.
Gates Foundation: support for KFF Health News’ Healthbeat partnership with Civic News Company.
Georgia Health Initiative: coverage of health care issues in Georgia.
Headwaters Foundation: coverage of Montana and other Mountain States.
John A. Hartford Foundation: coverage of aging, late-life, and geriatric care.
John Templeton Foundation: KFF Health News general operating support.
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust: coverage of rural health care issues.
Michigan Health Endowment Fund: coverage of health care issues in Michigan.
Missouri Foundation for Health: coverage of Missouri and the Midwest.
Montana Healthcare Foundation: coverage of Montana and other Mountain States.
Moses Taylor Foundation: support for our member station reporting partnership with NPR.
Robert W. Woodruff Foundation: coverage of health care issues in Georgia.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: coverage of the American South.
Silver Century Foundation: coverage of longevity and related health and social issues.
Awards and Honors
KFF Health News has been recognized repeatedly by our peers in journalism with an increasing number of awards honoring our reports on the American health care system. See the full list.