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 produced independently and distributed in partnership with KUOW and KFF Health News.
You can support An Arm and a Leg by donating at armandalegshow.com/support/
Show Credits: Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, and edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is the consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is the operations manager.
Episodes
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How to avoid the crappiest health insurance.
One journalist almost got roped into a scam. Plus, top health insurance nerds teach us how to find and read the fine print.
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The Insurance Warrior takes on a $61B Company
When Mattew Lientz needed surgery to save his life, his insurance wouldn’t cover it. Enter: Laurie Todd, the Insurance Warrior. Her first task: Figuring out who Matthew was really fighting, and how big the battle really was.
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Meet the Insurance Warrior
In 2005, Laurie Todd needed surgery to save her life. Her insurance company had no intention of paying for it. She went to war. Won. And has been helping other do the same ever since.
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A legendary lawyer sued hospitals for price-gouging their patients. And got his butt handed to him.
The lawyer was Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, the lawyer who beat Big Tobacco in the 1990s. Later, he launched a series of ill-fated national lawsuits aimed at getting non-profit hospitals to quit price-gouging low-income patients, and chasing them hard for...
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We’re back! Starting Aug 19. And we’ve got some doozies for you.
We’ve been on a hiatus for a minute, and we are SO excited about what we’re coming back with.These are stories we’ve been collecting for months—some of them for more than a year—and they’re big.
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A whole book about fighting effed-up medical bills? Yes, please.
For years, at ProPublica, Marshall Allen has been exposing health care grifters. (He’s our kind of guy.)Now, he's written a book… about how to fight back. It’s called “Never Pay the First Bill.” We talked. It was a whole vibe.
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Revisiting insulin, as relevant (and expensive) as ever
Updating a story we first reported in 2019, about how insulin got to be so horribly expensive—the scientists who discovered it did NOT want price or profits to keep it away from people who need it—and what some people are doing about it.
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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 job—and trying to debunk the myths he once sold. His story is a modern Christmas Carol.
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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 more complicated. This stinks.You can hear my wife and me try to puzzle the who...
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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.NYT reporter Sarah Kliff has asked readers to send in their COVID-testing bills. She's runs down the snags ...
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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 self-defense teacher—because self-defense is more than hitting and kicking. It's standing up for yourself, using your words.
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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 and funny.) We fact-checked her advice with a legal expert.