Anna Claire Vollers

Anna Claire Vollers

[email protected]

Anna Claire Vollers covers health care for Stateline. She has nearly 20 years’ experience reporting across the American South, specializing in stories about women, children and families. Before joining Stateline, she worked for outlets including AL.com, Reckon and The Birmingham News. Her investigative work has led to state policy and legal changes on issues such as unregulated day cares, teen boot camps and maternal health care. In 2017, she uncovered accusers of Alabama state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore during his U.S. Senate run. She has won national and regional awards for her reporting and feature writing. Anna Claire holds degrees in journalism and English from Auburn University and lives in Alabama.

States push short-term insurance as healthcare costs climb
Stateline

States push short-term insurance as healthcare costs climb

Nov 09, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Earlier this year, Madison Harden-Stein and her colleagues at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms posed as consumers interested in buying insurance as part of a secret shopper study. They found that insurance brokers and sales representatives often...
Democratic wins put Medicaid expansion back in play in holdout states
Stateline

Democratic wins put Medicaid expansion back in play in holdout states

Nov 06, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
In a handful of holdout states, Democrats appear ready to use their newly won statehouse dominance to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. In at least four states — Georgia, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin — the midterm election results...
Democrats romped in state elections. What will they do with their newfound power?
Stateline

Democrats romped in state elections. What will they do with their newfound power?

Nov 05, 2026
Kevin Hardy Anna Claire Vollers
The blue wave that swept across Tuesday’s midterm election will deliver Democrats new power over state government, giving them the opportunity to advance long-sought policy changes. Democrats flipped hundreds of seats, won control of several GOP-held chambers, broke veto-proof supermajorities...
Voters reject most big tax overhauls, with a few notable exceptions
Stateline

Voters reject most big tax overhauls, with a few notable exceptions

Nov 04, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Despite the blue wave that swept the nation on Tuesday, voters were more cautious about making sweeping changes to their taxes. Most states with tax policy on the ballot saw voters reject large-scale change, though some passed smaller changes or...
Voters in five states back bans on noncitizen voting while one state bucks trend
Stateline

Voters in five states back bans on noncitizen voting while one state bucks trend

Nov 04, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Voters in five states approved new citizenship voting requirements on Tuesday while Arizona voters rejected theirs. Proposals to explicitly bar noncitizens from voting were on the ballot this week in six states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West...
Caring for aging parents is getting more expensive
Stateline

Caring for aging parents is getting more expensive

Oct 28, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study. Out-of-pocket expenses are nearly 60% higher than they were just five years ago for family caregivers, who now spend an...
2026 ballot measures are written at a graduate-school reading level, report finds
Stateline

2026 ballot measures are written at a graduate-school reading level, report finds

Oct 23, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report. The readability of 2026’s ballot questions — which ask voters to weigh in on issues as varied as abortion, property taxes...
E-bikes now rival motorcycles for speed. State and city laws haven’t caught up.
Stateline

E-bikes now rival motorcycles for speed. State and city laws haven’t caught up.

Oct 21, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Earlier this month, a 50-year-old man riding his personal electric scooter in Washington, D.C., was killed when he collided with a woman on a rideshare scooter. In June, a 12-year-old Massachusetts girl died after her electric scooter slammed into a...
In 6 states, ballots include bans on noncitizen voting
Stateline

In 6 states, ballots include bans on noncitizen voting

Oct 21, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
Voters in six states are considering ballot measures in the midterm elections that would make it clear that only U.S. citizens may vote — and block local governments from expanding that right to others. Proposed constitutional amendments or law changes...
After states sue, Trump administration walks away from disability rights enforcement
Stateline

After states sue, Trump administration walks away from disability rights enforcement

Oct 02, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
A court battle that began when conservative-led states sued to block protections for transgender people has ended in a rollback of protections for people with disabilities — a result disability advocates have feared for months. At the end of August...
Voters to decide fate of state taxes this fall
Stateline

Voters to decide fate of state taxes this fall

Sep 23, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
This fall, voters in at least nine states will decide whether to cut, cap or raise taxes through ballot measures that will give them a direct hand in steering state tax policy in a conservative or progressive direction. Some states...
More states embrace ‘50-50’ child custody in divorce cases
Stateline

More states embrace ‘50-50’ child custody in divorce cases

Sep 16, 2026
Anna Claire Vollers
A growing number of states are making an equal split between parents the default child custody option in divorce cases. Louisiana and Mississippi this year joined at least five other states that have adopted the so-called 50-50 standard — four...