120 episodes

A show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it. Hosted by award-winning reporter Dan Weissmann (Marketplace, 99 Percent Invisible, Planet Money, Reveal).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Arm and a Leg An Arm and a Leg

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 17 Ratings

A show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it. Hosted by award-winning reporter Dan Weissmann (Marketplace, 99 Percent Invisible, Planet Money, Reveal).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Son of Medicare: Attack of the Machines

    Son of Medicare: Attack of the Machines

    Reporter Bob Herman from STAT News unpacks his blockbuster investigation about the country’s biggest health care company.   
    Covering the American health care system means we tell some scary stories. But this episode is almost like a horror movie. 
    It’s got some of Hollywood’s favorite tropes: Machines taking over. Monsters from separate franchises meeting face to face in a new movie, like Godzilla and King Kong, or Jason and Freddy. And a couple perceptive folks warning everyone, ”Hey, look, something really bad is happening!” 
    Those folks are Bob and his STAT News colleague Casey Ross. The monsters are United HealthGroup — a “behemoth” as one expert called them in an episode from last year — and Medicare Advantage, which we looked at in our last episode. And the “machines” belong to United.
    Bob describes what some of United’s own employees said about the result: “For some of us, it's creating this moral crisis. Like we know that we are having to listen to an algorithm to essentially kick someone out of a nursing home, even though we know that they can barely walk 20 feet.” 
    Scary stuff. But Bob and Casey’s reporting has caught the eye of some powerful people in government, and right now, Medicare Advantage plans are on notice from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the U.S. Senate is holding hearings, and the Department of Justice reportedly has an anti-trust investigation in the works. 
    Here’s a transcript of this episode. 
    Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
    And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 30 min
    The Medicare Episode

    The Medicare Episode

    Health insurance sucks. Which leaves lots of us counting down the days until we turn 65 and can get on Medicare – the federal government’s health insurance program for seniors. 
    But Medicare is a lot more complicated – and costs more money – than a lot of us realize. (Also, it involves insurance companies.) And:t There will be huge, complicated decisions to make when you turn 65, that can have huge consequences. 
    The biggest, and most consequential: Choosing between original Medicare and Medicare Advantage – the privatized version sold by health insurance companies that’s advertised everywhere seniors look. 
    Some folks who pick Medicare Advantage later regret it — but find there are no do-overs. 
    We get the scoop from Reporter Sarah Jane Tribble, who’s been covering the story for KFF Health News and the Washington Post. 
    And we get a preview: What do we all need to know before we hit 65 about the choices we’ll face? There are a lot of options, and a lot of price tags. Sarah Murdoch from the Medicare Right Center gives us an outline of those choices and their consequences — and supplies both tips and resources. 
    The biggest: When it’s time for you -- or anyone you care about -- to make choices around Medicare, every state has a free source of unbiased advice and information: Here’s a link to find your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (or SHIP).
    Here’s a transcript of this episode. 
    Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
    And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 29 min
    Wait, is insulin cheaper now?

    Wait, is insulin cheaper now?

    A listener wrote to us at the beginning of the year with a query, “I was just reading the news about the price of insulin going down to $35! Is that for everyone?”
    It turns out, there is a lot of good news about the so-called “poster child” for the high cost of prescription drugs. But to say it costs $35 now is an oversimplification – and diabetes activists don’t think this fight is over.
    Senior producer and self-proclaimed “insulin correspondent” Emily Pisacreta took a hard look at the recent developments. 
    Plus, what does the explosion of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have to do with the price of insulin? We break it down. 
    Here’s a transcript of this episode. 
    Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
    And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 25 min
    Self defense 101: Keeping your cool while you fight

    Self defense 101: Keeping your cool while you fight

    Dealing with the American health care system as a patient means lots of tough moments – unexpected bills, meds not covered, insurance and hospitals making you go back and forth without a clear answer, endless hold times and phone trees… the list goes on. 
    So listeners ask us all the time: How do I stay strong and fight for my rights without totally losing my s---? 
    We’re bringing back one of our most useful episodes ever: How to keep your cool in a tough moment, according to a self defense expert. 
    In late 2020, Dan hit up self defense expert Lauren Taylor to get strategies for standing up for yourself, and hear how she’s applied her approach in her own fight for health care coverage. 
    Since then, she’s published a book! It’s called Get Empowered: A Practical Guide to Thrive, Heal, and Embrace Your Confidence in a Sexist World. 
    Extra tip: At the moment, the site bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores, has the best price.
    Here’s a transcript of this episode. 
    Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
    And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 24 min
    One last tip before 2024

    One last tip before 2024

    Real quick: Now's the best time to support this show! Thanks to a few super-star Arm and a Leg listener/donors, your donation is matched two for one right now. Here's the link to donate.
    Ok, now: We’ve got a mini-episode for you today, a four-minute coda to the epic story we brought you in December.
    It features a last tip for anyone who might want to ask a hospital about charity care — which, as we learned from these recent stories, is most of us.
    And it comes with my big thanks for being part of this show’s community this year. You’re our reason for being, and our best sources.  
    You’re also our biggest source of financial support, so I will ask one more time to pitch in now if you can. 
    Thank you so much! We'll catch you in 2024.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 4 min
    When hospitals sue patients (part 2)

    When hospitals sue patients (part 2)

    Hey! The BEST time to support this show with a donation just got even better. Right now, any gift you make, up to $1,000, will be matched TWO for ONE, thanks to a few super-generous Arm and a Leg fans who’ve pooled their dough. . It’s a great deal, and it will set us up to kick maximum butt in 2024. Here’s the link, go for it!
    And… are you ready for our most-ambitious story yet? We’ve been working on this investigation all year, with our partners at Scripps News and the Baltimore Banner. 
    With those partners, we’ve dug up some surprising (and possibly uplifting) news about lawsuits in three states – Maryland, New York and Wisconsin — and what that news might mean for the rest of the country.  
    This is part two of a two-part series. In part one, we examined the phenomenon of hospitals suing patients in bulk – sometimes hundred or thousands at a time – over unpaid bills. 
    We learned that in many cases, those patients are struggling financially, and that the lawsuits aren’t very lucrative for hospitals anyway. So why did they happen in the first place? As one former collections industry insider told us, those decisions are “philosophically based.” 
    In this episode — before getting to those surprising/hopeful findings — we try to understand that “philosophy,” perhaps best described as: business-as-usual. We speak with a former hospital billing executive and a representative from the third-party collections industry. 
    This series is produced in partnership with the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
    … and supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 36 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
17 Ratings

17 Ratings

Gawdessness ,

A favourite podcast!

Excellent storytelling.
Eye-opening and we'll researched.
Love it.

laurabridgland ,

Excited!

As a nursing student this podcast binds my two favourite things: podcasts and health care!!

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

The Viall Files
Nick Viall
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Wishbone Production
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Vox Media Podcast Network
On s'connait pas tant que ça
Studio SF
This American Life
This American Life

You Might Also Like

Tradeoffs
Tradeoffs
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?'
KFF Health News
Planet Money
NPR
The Nocturnists
The Nocturnists
Embedded
NPR
The Indicator from Planet Money
NPR