Julie Appleby, senior correspondent, reports on the health law’s implementation, health care treatments and costs, trends in health insurance, and policy affecting hospitals and other medical providers. Before joining KHN, Julie spent 10 years covering the health industry and policy at USA Today. She also worked at the San Francisco Chronicle and the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California. She helped launch the Association of Health Care Journalists’ Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism contest in 2004 and oversaw it for more than a decade while serving on the association’s board. She holds a master’s degree in public health.