Health Care Reporter

The Kansas City Beacon is looking for a motivated mid-career reporter to cover health care, with an emphasis on consumer advocacy and disparities in access. We also want to give that reporter the freedom to identify and pursue health stories they’re passionate about in our community.

The work will often look at national trends in the health care industry and reveal how they’re playing out in KC. We’ll look to this reporter to explain systemic problems and help guide our audience through the confusing way the U.S. devotes nearly a fifth of its economy to health care and how it rations those services.

We’ll want you to understand local and state health policies and whether they respond adequately to the needs of a diverse place like KC. How much does geography equal destiny in health outcomes in Kansas City. Their reporting will be about what solutions are working, and which ones are not.

Job description:

Stays on top of trends on the health care beat. Develops sources and their own expertise on health-related topics.
Identifies, researches, pitches, writes, and reports stories on a level of sophistication that matches metropolitan newspapers.
Builds expertise on consumer health care stories that arm our readers in navigating the medical care industry.
Tracks source demographics.
Reports and writes long-form and shorter-turn stories about local and regional health issues with close attention to policies and legislation, health outcomes, patient experience, industry behavior, and advocacy positions.
Finds and analyzes health data to uncover hidden developments.
Engages with readers and participates in radio shows, public events, and live video.
Uses sources, story ideas, research, and writing that reflects Kansas City’s diversity and the difference in health experience for many communities.