Shows / An Arm and a Leg
An Arm and a Leg
An Arm and a Leg is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.
If you’ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you’re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting — you’re not always helpless. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart.
An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with KFF Health News and…
Episodes
- An Arm and a Leg
Mini-episode: Two small doses of good news
2021 is off to a rough start, but we've got a couple of small things that don't completely suck. First, a new federal rule could help cut through one…
- An Arm and a Leg
A 21st-century Christmas Carol: How one Scrooge became a health-care whistleblower
Former health-care executive Wendell Potter spent part of 2020 publishing high-profile apologies for the lies he says he told the American people in his old…
- An Arm and a Leg
From our reporter's notebook: What we learned in 2020, and what's ahead, with T.K. Dutes
This episode turns the tables: Host Dan Weissmann gets interviewed about what he's learned this year, and what's ahead for the show— with T.K. Dutes, an ace…
- An Arm and a Leg
Fight! My family tries to pick health insurance for next year. COVID makes it harder.
Keeping the plan we've got means paying $200 a month more. But... would a "cheaper" plan cost us more in the long run? It depends! And COVID makes it a lot…
- An Arm and a Leg
Andy Slavitt gives us a COVID check-in from 40,000 feet
Andy Slavitt, who ran a big chunk of health care for the Obama administration, has spent 2020 talking with almost everybody who knows anything about the COVID…
- An Arm and a Leg
How to avoid a big bill for your COVID test: with Sarah Kliff of the New York Times
They're supposed to be free. And usually they are. But sometimes... things happen. Here's how to keep them from happening to YOU. New York Times reporter Sarah…
- An Arm and a Leg
How to Keep Cool in a Tough Moment: A self-defense expert breaks it down
Possibly our most-useful episode ever. A listener asked: How do I remain cool when calling insurance companies? We called a veteran self-defense teacher—…
- An Arm and a Leg
David v Goliath: How to beat a big hospital (using small claims court)
In a classic—and hilarious—David vs. Goliath story, Jeffrey Fox takes on a huge hospital over an outrageous bill, and wins. He's a bit of an expert in using…
- An Arm and a Leg
How to handle debt collectors, with the TikTok Mom and a legal expert
There's a reason Shaunna Burns went viral with her videos about dealing with debt collectors: She used to be one, so she knows a few things. (Also she's smart…
- An Arm and a Leg
Your TikTok Mom has some medical-bill tips, and a hell of a story
Forty-something mom Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, thanks in part to a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills…
- An Arm and a Leg
A Blast of Hope and Humanity: Here's what perseverance looks like
Laura Derrick fought and endured for decades. When medical bills threatened to swamp her family, she made huge sacrifices, worked unbelievably hard... and…
- An Arm and a Leg
She tangled with health insurance every day for 25 years. And loved it. Here's what she can teach us.
Barbara Faubion got up every day psyched to go to work—which she says puzzled her friends. “They’d go, ‘You love your job?!? You spend your whole day talking…
- An Arm and a Leg
How to fight like a bulldog (against bogus medical bills)
Steve Benasso is an HR director who, his colleagues will tell you, hates insurance companies, and hates seeing people getting taken advantage of. So he fights…
- An Arm and a Leg
Financial self-defense school, now in session: Make your own luck.
If you need medical care, it's like you've entered a casino, playing for your financial life, with the deck stacked against you. Lucky for us, we get insight —…
- An Arm and a Leg
We’re back! Dealing with the cost of health care seems pretty relevant right now.
There's no time like a pandemic to (a) learn to fight back against the awful cost of health care. And (b) have a good time doing it. Yep. Let’s go. Support the…
- An Arm and a Leg
The hug shortage, the new abnormal, and the $7,000 COVID test. What we've learned in SEASON-19
We wrap up our COVID-19 popup season with stories from three folks with very different takes on what we've learned so far about what the pandemic is costing…
- An Arm and a Leg
How Katelyn survived COVID—without going bankrupt. (Not easy. She has tips.)
In early April, Katelyn was in a financial bind: Home sick with COVID, she hadn't been paid in weeks. And bills were due. "My landlord is kinda beating down my…
- An Arm and a Leg
From inside the health insurance company: Angst, and advice we can use.
A listener, who has worked in health insurance for decades, wrote in. "I have listened to all the episodes in this podcast, and there are times I come away…
- An Arm and a Leg
The severe, weird recession... in health care. And what it means for our wallets
You've probably noticed: The U.S. economy is crashing. Something you may not have noticed, that may sound really weird: Almost half of that economic…
- An Arm and a Leg
COVID tests are free, except... when they're not
Anna's insurance company said it would pay 100 percent for COVID-related testing. And then they left her to pay a giant bill. She got help, thanks to a viral…
- An Arm and a Leg
Like a fire with no one to call: 'We've left no latent capacity in health care.'
Ryan Gamlin spent a decade working on the financial side of health care, before going to medical school. Now, as an anesthesiologist in Los Angeles, he’s on…
- An Arm and a Leg
If I get COVID-19, what good will my insurance do me?
Lots of people have insurance plans that only cover them with certain places —providers, certain hospitals. But: in a COVID pandemic surge, who knows if you'd…
- An Arm and a Leg
Makers unite: Speeding PPE to a COVID hospital
We kick off SEASON-19, about the cost of COVID, with a dose of hope — a story about an unlikely chain of people coming together to speed PPE to a COVID…
- An Arm and a Leg
Whoa. Welcome to SEASON-19
We were not expecting to bring the next season out for another couple months, but... STUFF has been happening. Is happening. We're here with you. Bring us your…
- An Arm and a Leg
Reporter's Notebook: What we've learned so far, and what's ahead.
This bonus episode turns the tables: Ace reporter Sally Herships interviews Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann, about what he's learned so far, and what's ahead…
- An Arm and a Leg
Watch Your Back: Outwitting the Back-Pain Industry
Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, an investigative reporter with a bad back, spent years researching the $100-billion back-pain industry. She found that the most…
- An Arm and a Leg
Christmas in July
How one family's tragedy became, decades later, a $1 million gift to their neighbors. This story has everything: Laughter. Tears. Family. Community…
- An Arm and a Leg
This hospital sued thousands of patients — until a reporter called them out.
They say the problem with relying on journalists to embarrass providers into caving on crazy bills is, there aren’t enough journalists to go around. Fair. But…
- An Arm and a Leg
Can they freaking DO that?!?
A woman got a bill from a medical testing lab she’s never heard of, for $35. Then, a follow-up bill said if she didn’t pay up right away, that price was going…
- An Arm and a Leg
Why can't they tell you the price upfront?
Sarah Macsalka has seen the stories about how expensive an emergency room visit can be, even for a minor complaint. So when her seven year-old son Cameron…
- An Arm and a Leg
Health Care: The Musical
It would sound a LOT like Explanation of Benefits, which is a musical revue that actually played in New York City in 2019. ... so it would feature a parody of…
- An Arm and a Leg
My Neighbor the Health-Care Ninja
Meredith Balogh has spent years learning to navigate the financial side of the health-care system. She’s a type-one diabetic, she’s never had a lot of money…
- An Arm and a Leg
Mom vs. Texas
Stephanie Wittels Wachs has a daughter born with hearing loss, which is how she found out insurance didn't cover hearing aids for kids. Those start at $6,000…
- An Arm and a Leg
Hey there! Season 3 is coming November 14. Here’s a preview.
It’s going to be REALLY fun. Also, maybe useful. Catch you here soon! Also, here’s a little video preview. Bonus news: Did you know we're nominated for an…
- An Arm and a Leg
A place where they do health care more cheaply and effectively. (And yes, it’s in the U.S.)
For our Season 2 finale, time for some inspiration. For 30 years, James Gingerich has run a super-effective clinic in Indiana, delivering great results at low…
- An Arm and a Leg
An actor walks into a doctor’s office…
Dr. Saul Weiner is a physician and researcher at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin)…
- An Arm and a Leg
Whoa, this medical device is spying on me. In my sleep. So my insurer can deny me coverage.
That’s the rude awakening Eric Umansky got when he called the company that provided his CPAP machine — a device that helps him breathe at night. He got mad…
- An Arm and a Leg
The surprising history behind insulin’s absurd price (and some hopeful signs in the wild)
The price of insulin is iconic — doubling, tripling, multiplying like crazy, for medicine Type 1 diabetics can’t live without. To understand it, we went back…
- An Arm and a Leg
Coming next week: The price of insulin
As we started working on season two of this podcast, there was one topic that seemed like we just had to look at: insulin. … and I wondered: There are stories…
- An Arm and a Leg
Why are drug prices so random? Meet Mr. PBM
I filled a prescription recently, and the drugstore said they wanted more than 700 bucks… for an old-line generic drug. My insurance ended up knocking that…
- An Arm and a Leg
How much for an MRI? Well, that depends…
This week, we look at three MRIs with four different price tags, and an enormous range. Liz Salmi and a view of her brain. (Photo: Kaiser Health News) The…
- An Arm and a Leg
To get paid, hospitals get creative
Hospital bills are too high, and insurance doesn’t cover enough. Turns out, that’s a crisis for hospitals too: more and more of us aren’t paying those bills…
- An Arm and a Leg
We thought we had adulted properly
Caitlin and Corey Gaffer got a surprise letter from their insurance company — saying they were being dumped for non-payment. Except, as far as they knew, they…
- An Arm and a Leg
We’re back! Here’s a taste of Season 2, launching June 4.
Hey there! We’ve been working hard on season 2. We hope you enjoy this preview — there’s so much good (and frightening) stuff ahead. Support the show…
- An Arm and a Leg
A “deal” on health insurance comes with troubling strings
Bari Tessler is a little famous as a “financial therapist,” but even she gets rattled by the price of health care. Her story is complicated. And very…
- An Arm and a Leg
Why are ER bills so horrible? Sarah Kliff spent a year finding out. (Season One, episode 7)
Emergency rooms often bill you a “cover charge” just for walking in the door, and it can be thousands of dollars. That’s in addition to the huge markup on…
- An Arm and a Leg
Why Health Insurance Actually Sucks (Season One, episode 6)
Turns out, insurance companies allow — even encourage — crazy price-gouging by hospitals. For example, the leg brace Blake needed was available for $150 on…
- An Arm and a Leg
So, Robin Hood’s got an approach to medical bills. (Season One, episode 5)
The health-care system — especially the financial side — can feel like a Medieval torture device. So maybe it fits that workers from Renaissance fairs have…
- An Arm and a Leg
Why you (and I) will likely pick the wrong health-insurance plan (Season One, episode 4)
Because as smart economists recently proved) it is super-confusing, and most of us can’t do the math. But! We found glimmers of hope. So don’t be scared. We’d…
- An Arm and a Leg
How one drug got its $500,000 price tag. (With 99 Percent Invisible– Season One, episode 3)
The answer involves a suburban housewife, a 1970s TV star, and a Las Vegas maker of popcorn and nacho cheese sauce. Also: Wall Street. Produced with our…
- An Arm and a Leg
All the Marbles: One woman’s epic quest for health insurance (Season One, episode 2)
Laura Derrick takes a drug that costs more than $500,000 a year. So when her family was going to lose their insurance, she made crazy sacrifices… and changed…
- An Arm and a Leg
This is Water, and it sucks. Let’s talk. (Season One, episode 1)
When I first started talking about doing a show about the cost of health care… everybody had a story. Including me. It’s like that famous speech by the writer…
- An Arm and a Leg
A podcast about the cost of health care, coming November 2018
The spiraling cost of medical care shapes people’s lives: The jobs we’re afraid to leave because of insurance, the risk that a trip to the doc could end in…