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.

Hilzenrath has reported on weaknesses in FDA oversight of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and other products. As editor-in-chief and chief investigative reporter at the Project on Government Oversight, he led its investigative team to 11 journalism awards on topics as varied as offshore drilling, corporate auditing, embassy security, and prosecutorial misconduct. During more than two decades as a reporter for The Washington Post, he wrote extensively about the intersection of business and government, including in the realm of health care. Hilzenrath taught investigative reporting at Georgetown University, studied at the University of Michigan through the program now known as the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, and is an honors graduate of Harvard College.