Scott Hensley
Scott Hensley edits stories about health, biomedical research and pharmaceuticals for NPR's Science desk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has led the desk's reporting on the development of vaccines against the coronavirus.
Hensley has worked on award-winning investigations in collaboration with journalistic partners.
He was the lead NPR editor on an investigation with the Center for Public Integrity in 2018 that exposed drug industry influence on the choices of preferred medicines by Medicaid programs. The work won the 2019 Gerald Loeb Award for audio reporting.
In 2017, Hensley was the lead NPR editor on an investigation with Kaiser Health News that showed how the pharmaceutical industry exploits government incentives intended to encourage the development of treatments for rare diseases. The stories won the 2019 digital award from the National Institute for Health Care Management.
Hensley has been editing in his current role since 2019. He joined NPR in 2009 to launch Shots, a blog that expanded to become a digital destination for NPR health coverage.
Before NPR, Hensley was a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal. He was the founding editor of The Wall Street Journal Health Blog, which focused on the intersection of health and business. As a reporter, he covered the drug industry and the Human Genome Project.
Hensley served on the board of the Association of Health Care Journalists from 2012 to 2020.
He has a bachelor's degree in natural sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a master's in journalism from Columbia University.
Before becoming a journalist, Hensley worked in the medical device industry. He remains, now and forever, a lover of Dobermans, lacrosse and Callinectes sapidus.
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Come Friday, states will have to decide whether they will run their own insurance exchanges under President Obama's sweeping health law. We had a rapid-fire chat about the exchanges on Twitter. -
Over the next four years, the meat of the health law, Obama's signature domestic policy achievement during the first term, will take effect. The pace of implementation picks up now and will keep states, employers and the federal government busy. -
Thanks to vigorous efforts to eradicate the poliovirus through vaccination, there are only three countries on the face of the earth where polio is still endemic. -
Who makes the most? Specialists who do things to you. Orthopedic surgeons and radiologists top the earnings chart at an average income of $315,000 a year, according to data compiled by Medscape. -
A cat on a leash stretched out on the steps outside the Supreme Court while a chihuahua mix with health insurance showed her support for the Obama administration's health care law. -
A consortium of consumer and environmental groups says there's too much lead in lipstick. The Food and Drug Administration says there's nothing to worry about. -
Even after downplaying some parts of a document requesting partners for future health care ventures, Wal-Mart's ambitions to do something bigger in providing medial services in its stores remains clear. The company is seeking help in managing chronic health conditions — from asthma to osteoporosis — that are among the most prevalent problems in the U.S. -
Routine testing of men's blood to detect prostate cancer is unwarranted, and causes more harm than good, according to findings of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The panel of experts sets the agenda for doctors and, increasingly, insurance payments. -
Big insurers are investing in a wide range of businesses that are lightly regulated and growing fast. Prospects for non-insurance enterprises look better in the wake of the big federal health law.
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Comedian Denis Leary got a dig in about Americans' health problems with a tweet that said more of us would be in favor of health overhaul if it came with a side order of fries.
