ProPublica announced Monday that it has hired Caroline Chen as a reporter covering health care.
Chen comes to ProPublica from Bloomberg News, where her reporting has focused on the drug industry and the intersection of health care and technology. Her work there included investigations into Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ use of a mail-order pharmacy to pump up reimbursements for its drugs — a revelation that sparked investor outcry and contributed to a plummet in the company’s shares — and the plight of children with medical needs who end up spending months in hospitals because there aren’t enough home-care nurses to allow them to leave.
Chen co-authored a Bloomberg Businessweek cover story exposing a drugmaker’s use of scare tactics to get patients with rare diseases to stay on its therapies, and another showing how the U.S. government’s bureaucracy impeded efforts to develop an Ebola treatment. She also wrote a story revealing that the diagnostic business of Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong — the new owner of the Los Angeles Times — was attempting to sell an $11,000 cancer test with little success.
“Caroline is a meticulous reporter and storyteller whose work adds new understanding to how the health care industry works,” said Robin Fields, ProPublica managing editor. “We are thrilled to bring her many talents to our newsroom.”
Before Bloomberg, Chen received her master’s degree from the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University. She also freelanced, publishing stories in the New York Times, the New York Daily News and other outlets.