FOX 9 Investigation on long-term care insurance honored by National Press Foundation
Inside the long-term care insurance crisis
Many Minnesotans are facing insurance rates spikes for long-term care. FOX 9 Investigator Nathan O'Neal digs into it.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The FOX 9 Investigators have been named the winner of the 2025 AARP Award for Excellence in Journalism on Aging for their reporting on the long-term care insurance industry, according to the National Press Foundation.
The backstory:
The FOX 9 Investigators spent months reviewing state and corporate records to reveal how large insurance companies are trying to push people out of their long-term care coverage.
One prominent insurance company, CNA, has repeatedly raised rates on Minnesotans with long-term care policies, offered policy buy-outs at a fraction of their worth and pressured people to walk away from insurance policies they paid into for decades, according to the FOX 9 Investigators review of financial documents.
Insurance companies like CNA sold policies to tens of thousands of Minnesotans as a way to plan for the future, including the costs of nursing homes and long-term care for adults with disabling diseases, including dementia and Alzheimer's.
The FOX 9 Investigators found another company engaged in a pattern of "delay and deny" for policyholders who tried to file a claim.
Long-term care crisis: delay & deny
FOX 9 Investigator Nathan O'Neal digs into how one insurance company avoided paying for nursing home care.
What they're saying:
The judging panel praised the work for remaining "crisp and clear" and "accessible" despite the complexity of the topic and sheer volume of information.
Judges noted that the number of journalists dedicated to the project and the thoroughness of their work was extraordinary, calling the investigation a "public service to the people of Minnesota."
What's next:
Investigative reporter Nathan O'Neal and Investigative Photojournalist Casey Hooker will be honored at the National Press Foundation Awards Dinner in Washington D.C. next spring.
The AARP Award for Excellence in Journalism on Aging was created in 2023. The CT Mirror in Connecticut was also honored with the 2025 award for their investigative reporting on the long-term care industry. Previous winners include the CT Mirror, KGTV and The Washington Post.