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.
One of them turns out to be about how change actually happens. Which for a show about the cost of health care—one that promises (and we do) to be entertaining, empowering, and useful—change is important.
And, as horrible as things are right now, we’ve been learning: some things used to be worse.
For instance, this year we’ve been reporting on how people can get bills forgiven by hospitals. It’s called charity care, and it’s the law. Twenty years ago, in most of the country, THIS WAS NOT A THING.
The road to making this a right took a lot of work from a lot of people. Like one of the country’s biggest lawyers—the guy who helped bring down big tobacco.
You know, big tobacco was TOUGH. And he BEAT them. But on hospitals… he totally failed.
Well, not totally. But it’s a wild ride, and we’ll be on it for a few episodes. It even takes us to the Oval Office, which is fun.
And after that… well, I’ve met a couple of people who have taken me into the GUTS of health insurance, and actually, blown my mind about what it really is.
As always, please send your stories and questions: https://armandalegshow.com/contact/ or call 724 ARM-N-LEG
And of course we’d love for you to support this show.
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More episodes from An Arm and a Leg
A ‘payday loan’ from a health care behemoth
When a New York doctor tweeted recently about “payday loans” for doctors from a branch of UnitedHealth Group — which operates the giant insurance …
Mental health ‘ghost networks’ — and a ghost-buster
For lots of people, trying to access mental health treatment — like a therapist or a psychiatrist —is nothing short of a horror story. You could even …
A $229,000 medical bill goes to court
Before her surgery, a hospital told Lisa French she would end up owing them $1,337. After insurance paid them — more than they’d expected — the …
A doctor’s love letter to ‘the People’s Hospital’
What if we had a decent, publicly-funded health system — available to everybody, with or without insurance? We’ve got one, says Dr. Ricardo Nuila. …
Lessons from “wrestling with a giant”
The ER visit was quick and uneventful. The bill was $1,300. Our listener decided to push back. He didn't win, but he learned a lot — and so did we.
…
The bill looked like BS. So she took it to small claims court.
“I sued a hospital in small claims court and lost — here’s what I learned.” That was the subject line for an email we got from listener Lauren Slemenda.
She wrote: “I feel like I won” — and …
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