Marshall Allen (March 20, 1972 – May 19, 2024) was an American journalist who, with Alex Richards, won the 2011

Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting is an award for journalists administered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The program was launched in 1991, with the goal of exposing examples o ...

for reporting on patient safety in Las Vegas hospitals as a reporter at the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...

''. The series of articles was also a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting is awarded to an example of "significant issues of local or statewide concern, demonstrating originality and community connection". This Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1948. Like most Pulitzers the winn ...

in 2011.

Life and career

Allen was born March 20, 1972, in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, the second son of Darrell and Polly Allen. He graduated from

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

, with a Master's degree in Theology. For three years, he and his wife Sonja served as missionaries associated with

Young Life Young Life is a global Christian parachurch organization reaching out to middle school, high school, and college-aged young people based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Young Life's mission statement is "Introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and ...

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...

. Allen was a staff writer at the ''

Pasadena Star-News The ''Pasadena Star-News'' is a paid local daily newspaper for the greater Pasadena, California area. The Pasadena ''Star-News'' is a member of Southern California News Group (formerly the Los Angeles Newspaper Group), since 1996. It is also par ...

'', and the ''News-Press and Foothill Leader Newspapers''. He was a reporter for the ''

'', from 2006 to 2011. He was a 2009 Fellow of the

Association of Health Care Journalists The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. Its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writ ...

(AHCJ). The "Do No Harm" project was based on data mining, and analyzing hospital records turned over to the State of Nevada. Allen reported on health care for ''

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

'' and taught investigative health reporting at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. In 2018, Allen was named a "Top Doctor" in the State of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Despite carrying no medical credentials, he was able to pay $99 to receive the award. After the success of his book ''Never Pay the First Bill'', Marshall Allen founded the Allen Health Academy, a platform dedicated to empowering individuals and employers with strategies to lower healthcare costs and navigate the complexities of the healthcare system. Students have saved a reported $1.65M in medical bills as a result of Allen's curriculum. Allen died of a heart attack on May 19, 2024, at the age of 52. ''

'', his former employer, published his obituary. After Allen's death, friends and colleagues launched the Marshall Allen Project to equip working Americans and employers with knowledge, strategies, and tools to lower health care costs. Allen insisted that uncovering truth was fundamental to his Christian faith.

Works

"Do No Harm"
''Las Vegas Sun'' *

References

External links

"Public Records: Marshall Allen on Why Journalists Should Play By Bureaucrats' Rules"Marshall Allen talks ‘Do No Harm’ to JSchool StudentsFormer LA Reporter Beats ProPublica, Then Joins Themjournalist's Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Marshall 1972 births 2024 deaths American male journalists Fuller Theological Seminary alumni 21st-century Christians Journalists from Portland, Oregon University of Colorado Boulder alumni