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 "Bills, Bills, Bills" — the 1999 Destiny's Child hit —rewritten for the age of GoFundMe.
And it would have smart, funny musical numbers tracing the long, sad history of the U.S. health care industry.
Welcome to our musical episode! And thank you to the young NYC troupe Heck No Techno for creating Explanation of Benefits.
Our episode isn't sung all the way through — it's more like the PBS documentary on Hamilton than an actual musical of its own. But that is still. Pretty. Darn. Cool.
AND: In keeping with our theme this season of self-defense against the cost of health care, Explanation of Benefits wraps with a set of short vignettes demonstrating ways patients can work to protect themselves from excessive charges.
So we have included here an email-by-email breakdown of songwriter Emily Lowinger's successful battle to fight off a surprise medical bill.
... and we've set it off with music — timing and cues lovingly adjusted by our audio wizard, Adam — and it is a TREAT.
Go enjoy. Have a great Thanksgiving!
... and speaking of thanks: I recently spent a weekend afternoon sending thank-you cards to folks who support this show on Patreon. I'd love it if you became one: https://www.patreon.com/armandalegshow
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More episodes from An Arm and a Leg
The best video about health insurance, ever
A couple months ago, we started getting messages from listeners telling us: you gotta watch this video.
It’s a thirty minute YouTube video from a creator named Brian David Gilbert, and it’s …
Health insurance post-Roe, and a grassroots network of abortion funds
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion has been banned in more than a dozen states. As you choose your insurance plan for next year, you might be wondering: How does that …
A listener asks: Could NOT having insurance be a better deal?
It’s open enrollment for 2023 health insurance for lots of folks — a time when you might find yourself asking: what good is health insurance anyway?
…
Quick update from Arm and a Leg HQ
Hey there,
You may have noticed, we've been keeping a slower pace for the last few months — publishing every three weeks instead of every two — since Dan recovered from COVID.
And …
California plans to make its own insulin and sell it super-cheap. Really.
This year, the state of California put up $100 million to produce its own insulin, and sell it for cheap. How’s it going to work? (Is it going to …
Congress fixed (a piece of) Medicare. It only took a few decades.
Lots of seniors have to pay thousands of dollars for drugs—even tens of thousands—or do without life-saving medicine. That’s finally going to change.
How you can listen to this podcast
You can listen to episodes right here on the website, or if you prefer, in a podcast app. Listening in an app makes it easier to keep track of what you’ve already heard, listen without using your data plan and many other conveniences.