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Adriana Falcón Trafford took out a long-term care insurance policy in 2001. When she signed up for the plan, the annual premium was $2,608. Now, it’s close to $7,000. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

Four Connecticut Mirror reporters have won the National Press Foundation’s 2025 AARP Award for Excellence in Journalism on Aging for their reporting on long-term care insurance costs in Connecticut.

Reporters Jenna Carlesso, Dave Altimari, Katy Golvala and Andrew Brown were awarded for “Priced Out,” an investigation into the rate hikes that have affected nearly 100,000 long-term care insurance policy holders in Connecticut. Judges said the piece was “incredibly well done” and noted that it covered an issue with national relevance, saying “everyone in the country is going to have this problem.”

[Read the story here: CT long-term care insurance costs are skyrocketing, strangling consumers]

CT Mirror’s story explored the costs of maintaining long-term care insurance policies, which are skyrocketing due to miscalculations by insurers on how long people would live, the price of care and how many would need it. Policyholders’ rate increases have often exceeded 50% and, for a few dozen people, got as high as 174%, CT Mirror found.

Following the reporting, Connecticut lawmakers raised at least 16 proposals during the 2025 legislative session to reform long-term care insurance. One bill, which would have boosted transparency by requiring insurers to hold public hearings whenever they raise rates by more than 10%, passed the Senate unanimously but died in the House.

“This series reflects what The Connecticut Mirror does best — deep, persistent reporting that holds power to account and centers the voices of those most affected,” CT Mirror Executive Editor Elizabeth Hamilton said. “We’re proud of our team’s commitment to uncovering the truth about an industry that has long operated in the shadows, and we’re honored to see that work recognized.”

This is the second time CT Mirror has won in the small/regional outlet category since the award’s inception in 2023. That year, Altimari and Carlesso won for “Connecticut’s Elder Care Reckoning,” a four-part series examining Connecticut’s destabilized nursing home sector and a home care system that operates with little to no oversight.

This year’s large outlet category award was given to Nathan O’Neal and Casey Hooker of FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, who also covered long-term care insurance. They investigated Minnesota insurance companies CNA and Transamerica, finding that the former had increased its premiums by nearly 350% and the latter had a pattern of “delay and deny” in its claims process.

CT Mirror staff will accept the award at the 2026 NPF Awards dinner on March 12 in Washington, D.C.

As manager of audience engagement, Gabby is responsible for CT Mirror’s digital growth. She manages our website, newsletters, search engine optimization, CT Mirror Explains product, on-site marketing, social media channels and internal data analysis. Gabby previously worked as a reporter on Patch.com’s Connecticut team and as an associate editor at The Woonsocket Call in Rhode Island. She is a Connecticut native who holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UConn and is pursuing a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.