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Bob Graham is executive editor at Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.

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The health insurance industry, a broker in Nebraska and the National Association of Health Underwriters scored some seriously good publicity July 12 as the result of a National Public Radio reporter’s prior error in explaining a man’s difficulty in finding affordable health insurance for he and his wife in a previous report.

In the earlier report, veteran reporter Howard Berkes said the small business owner said coverage would cost him $24,000 to $40,000 a year. Insurance broker Brian Urban, who also serves as Nebraska‘s legislative chairman for the National Association of Health Underwriters, contacted the man and found him a better deal ($2,400 a year). Someone clued in NPR, which aired the 3 minute, 54 second reporter’s mea culpa on its popular Sunday morning program.

If NAHU had an award for best media coverage for the year, Berkes and NPR would be easy winners for this report.