Announcement from National Editor Philip Rucker, Deputy National Editor Amy Fiscus, Health Sciences Editor Stephen Smith, and Deputy Health Sciences Editor Tracy Jiang:
We’re pleased to announce that after her outstanding run as host of our Health 202 newsletter, Rachel Rubain has taken on a new role covering the Food and Drug Administration.
Rachel’s mission is to document the vast federal agencies whose work impacts the lives of all Americans every day, whether it’s developing vaccines to thwart seasonal viruses, drugs to halt the ravages of cancer, or measures to protect the nation’s food supply.
During her time as chair of Health 202 (now renamed Health Brief), Rachel brought relentless determination and boundless enthusiasm to shaping health policy from Capitol Hill to corporate boardrooms, and she did so with collaboration and cheerfulness amid the rigorous demands of a daily newsletter.
Rachel also found time to co-author major stories in the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade, reporting on how the victorious anti-abortion movement struggled with division, how Republicans deployed new strategies on abortion in the first legislative session without Roe, and how abortion providers navigated conflicting rulings on abortion pills. She broke the news that Democrats were adding a measure to make insulin more affordable to their health and climate bill, and also had exclusive information that Congress had finalized a deal to cover the costs of Medicaid in Puerto Rico and other territories.
The same spirit of camaraderie that characterized her work at Health 202 will be essential in her new role working with journalists in The National’s Health and Science team, as well as other reporters across newsrooms such as Business and Wellbeing. She recently partnered with Lena Sun to cover the bird flu outbreak, writing pioneering stories about the disjointed Government response.
Rachel joined The Washington Post in 2021 from Politico, where she worked as a health care reporter covering Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. She previously wrote about health care for the Carroll County Times in Maryland and about health policy for National Journal and The Hill.
Please join us in congratulating Rachel on her new role this spring.
