We're re-releasing and updating a story we first reported in 2019, about how insulin got to be so horribly expensive—the scientists who discovered it …
Yep. This viral TikTok video's recipe for "crushing" medical bills is legally sound. And IRS filings from thousands of hospitals attest to $2.7 …
Jeff is a lawyer who used to represent medical-bill collectors in court. ("I was a bad guy, for sure," he says.)
But he switched sides, and he's here …
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 …
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 …
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 radio host and podcast-maker ... …
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 …
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 pandemic— and sharing what he …
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 Kliff has been asking readers …
Possibly our most-useful episode ever. A listener asked: How do I remain cool when calling insurance companies?
We called a veteran self-defense …
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 …
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 …
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. She's become the virtual mom …
Laura Derrick fought and endured for decades. When medical bills threatened to swamp her family, she made huge sacrifices, worked unbelievably hard... and helped change the course of …
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 …
Steve Benasso is an HR director who, his colleagues will tell you, hates insurance companies, and hates seeing people getting taken advantage of. So …
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 — and tips the dealer WON'T …
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.
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 …
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 door right now," she said in …
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 feeling bad working for the …
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 devastation comes from just one sector.
…
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 …
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, …
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 end up one of those places? And …
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 hospital in Brooklyn. NYC is a couple …
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 stories and your QUESTIONS: …
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 …
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, …
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. …
They say the problem with relying on journalists to embarrass providers into caving on crazy bills is, there aren’t enough journalists to go …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
For our Season 2 finale, time for some inspiration.
For 30 years, James Gingerich has run a super-effective clinic in Indiana, delivering great …
Dr. Saul Weiner is a physician and researcher at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Photo: Roberta …
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 price of insulin is iconic — doubling, tripling, multiplying like crazy, for medicine Type 1 diabetics can’t live without.
To understand it, we …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out …
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 relatable.
Bari chose to use a Christian …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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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