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 for the show. \They dig into …
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 commonly-prescribed treatments, …
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. Generosity. Softball. AND: Punk rock. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, and for years she didn’t have …
Mom vs. Texas
Stephanie Wittels Wachs has a daughter born hearing impaired, which is how she found out insurance didn't cover hearing aids for kids. Those start at $6,000 and only last a few years. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. And he got even, in a way: Eric …
The insane, surprising history behind insulin’s crazy 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 first two price tags come from …
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, because we can’t. So, they’re …
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 were paid up.
As it turned out, …
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.
For information regarding your data privacy, visit …Is it ever appropriate to fudge a little? (Season One, episode 8)
Bari Tessler is a little famous as a “financial therapist,” but even she gets rattled by the price of health care.
Also: What my family is doing for health insurance next year.
This is our …
Why are ER bills so crazy? With Sarah Kliff of Vox.com. (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 …
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 Amazon. But thanks to his …
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 come up with a work-around.
In …
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 like to hear how you’re choosing …
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 …
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 the course of history.
Find Us …
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 …
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 …
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