Jenna Portnoy

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering healthcare in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

Education: University of Delaware, BA in English

Jenna Portnoy is the local health reporter for The Washington Post. She previously covered members of Congress from the greater Washington region and worked in the Richmond bureau, where she wrote about the governor and the legislature. Before joining The Post, she worked for the Newark Star-Ledger in her home state, covering then-governor Chris Christie, as well as the Allentown Morning Call, Doylestown Intelligencer, Philadelphia City Paper and Easton Express-Times. She has been a newspaper reporter since 2001.
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Latest from Jenna Portnoy

Bowser to name new D.C. Health director after a nearly year-long search

Sharon Lewis, formerly a senior deputy director at D.C. Health, is retiring after steering the agency for nearly a year.

June 2, 2023

In D.C., a fight over ‘Kafkaesque absurdity’ of insurance delays, denials

Patient advocates highlight consequences for mental health, opioid treatment under prior authorization rules they want the D.C. Council to change.

May 28, 2023

Schars give $75 million to Inova heart center

Real estate magnate Dwight Schar and his wife, Martha, are giving $75 million to Inova Health System’s Heart and Vascular Institute, which will be renamed Inova Schar Heart & Vascular, the health system announced.

May 23, 2023

Ousted public health chief named special adviser to Youngkin on opioids

The appointment marks the second time Youngkin has rewarded someone Senate Democrats would not support with an appointment not subject to their confirmation.

May 12, 2023

What to know about Medicaid unwinding in the District, Maryland and Virginia

Here's what to know as pandemic-era Medicaid rules expire, leaving governments reexamining who qualifies for public health insurance.

May 6, 2023

Local covid tracking sites adapt to new era of coronavirus pandemic

States, D.C., adapt as national public health emergency sunsets.

May 2, 2023

Nearly 400,000 Virginians risk losing Medicaid, starting Monday

An estimated 140,000 Virginia children will no longer be covered by Medicaid as pandemic-era protections expire.

April 30, 2023

Youngkin names Southwest Virginia OB/GYN as health commissioner

Karen Shelton treated patients in Bristol for nearly 20 years before serving as director of three health districts representing all of Southwest Virginia.

April 20, 2023

The tragic, preventable reasons syphilis is surging among U.S. infants

The spike in babies born with syphilis is driven in part by the nation’s drug and homelessness crisis. The trend is especially apparent across the Sun Belt.

April 11, 2023

Health care protest at Maryland State House ends in seven arrests

About 85,000 undocumented people would enroll if Maryland expanded access to its state health exchange, analysts predict.

April 7, 2023