Ben Allen
Ben Allen was the Morning Edition host at KOSU, from March 2012 to October 2013.
While atKOSU, he garnered a number of awards for his reporting, including 4 first place Society of Professional Journalists, Oklahoma chapter awards in 2012, tied for the most of any journalist – print or broadcast – in the state. His reporting exposed a plan by a Native American tribe to commercially harvest castor beans, which contain the poisonricin. That plan was eventually shelved. He also illuminated the impact the U.S. farm bill has on both farmers and the poor.
Ben grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and is a 2011 graduate of Fordham University. He was previously employed at the school’s NPR member station WFUV.
As of April 2014, Ben is a full-time general assignment reporter for WITF in central Pennsylvania.
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A Senate proposal to repeal Obamacare includes $45 billion to treat opioid addiction. But it wouldn't make up for deep cuts to Medicaid in that same bill that has funded much of that treatment. -
Expanding Medicaid has helped many people caught up in the opioid epidemic get treatment. But doctors say the proposed Republican changes to the Affordable Care Act could jeopardize these programs. -
Two Pennsylvania voters who buy health insurance on HealthCare.gov are frustrated with how expensive the plans have become. They voted for Trump in hopes he can bring down health insurance costs. -
Decades ago, a researcher came up with 28 days as the ideal length of stay for inpatient alcoholism rehab, despite lack of evidence that it worked. That model is now being used for opioid addiction. -
Getting good information is critical to figuring out where resources need to go to treat newborns dependent on opioids. Pennsylvania relies on old and incomplete statistics, but that may be changing. -
Some Medicaid plans will now get federal funding for 15 days of inpatient treatment. But Pennsylvania fears the new rule will close a loophole the state has been using to pay for longer stints. -
There's Black Friday and Cyber Monday and, in some places, a single day dedicated to getting people to give to local nonprofits. In Lancaster County, Penn., they call it the Extraordinary Give — 24 hours of events designed to entice donations to arts groups, charities and other nonprofits.
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Federal law requires insurance firms to cover treatment for addiction as they do treatment for other diseases. But some families say many drug users aren't getting the inpatient care they need. -
Opiate abuse has reached crisis levels, but some states aren't doing all they can to determine the depth of the problem. Finding up-to-date statistics for specific drugs is often difficult. -
When a shabby-looking, 50-foot "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree went up in the middle of downtown Reading, Pa., around Thanksgiving, many saw it as a metaphor for the city's troubles.
