David Hilzenrath, senior correspondent and a veteran of The Washington Post, joined the staff in 2022. At KFF Health News, he was lead author of coverage that exposed a crisis in the Social Security system, spurred sweeping policy changes, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. The reporting showed how the Social Security Administration was crushing many of the people it was designed to help. The coverage, a collaboration with Cox Media Group television stations, received a gold prize in the Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism, a first-of-its-kind Goldsmith Award for reporting on government from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a National Headliner Award for public service. From the National Press Foundation, it received the Feddie Award for reporting about the impact of federal laws and regulations on local communities. It also was recognized with honors from the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
