How Do You Deal With Wild Drug Prices?
âAn Arm and a Legâ is collecting stories for a new series about how Americans get the medicine they need when faced with sticker shock.
An Arm and a Leg
Health care â and how much it costs â is scary. But youâre not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power.Â
An Arm and a Leg, a podcast about these issues, is co-produced by host Dan Weissmann and 51ÊÓÆ” Health News. Previously, Weissmann was a staff reporter for Marketplace and Chicago’s WBEZ. His work also appears on “All Things Considered,” Marketplace, the BBC, 99% Invisible, and “Reveal” from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
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The âShkreli Awardsâ â For Dysfunction and Profiteering in Health Care
Season 13, Episode 1The Lown Institute, a health care think tank, holds a contest every year for the most outrageous stories of greed in health care.
A Listener Fighting the Good Fight
Season 12, Episode 10A medical resident who listens to âAn Arm and a Legâ is pushing for change with the American Medical Association and at the hospital where he works.
Revisiting âChristmas In Julyâ
Season 12, Episode 9From the archives of âAn Arm and a Legâ: a family tragedy, a 40-year tradition, and a million dollars in medical debt erased.
New Lessons in the Fight for Charity Care
Season 12, Episode 8Host Dan Weissmann checks back in on the fight for hospital charity care, with lessons from Dollar For and a savvy listener.
Fight Health Insurance â With Help From AI
Season 12, Episode 7Meet the tech worker on a quest to use artificial intelligence to combat denials for coverage from patientsâ health plans.
Can Racism Make You Sick?Â
Season 12, Episode 6In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann sits down with 51ÊÓÆ” Health Newsâ Cara Anthony to talk about the documentary and podcast series she produced about the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community. The project is called âSilence in Sikeston.â
âBaby Stepsâ in the Fight Against Facility Fees
Season 12, Episode 5An extra $99 fee on top of a copay for a checkup didnât sit right with a listener. Turns out, state legislators across the country arenât buying it either.
Donât Get âBulliedâ Into Paying What You Donât Owe
Season 12, Episode 3In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the âBill of the Monthâ series, produced in partnership with NPR.
The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee
Season 12, Episode 1In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.
Meet the Middlemanâs Middleman
Season 11, Episode 8Why are patients facing bigger bills than they expect for out-of-network care? In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â the show explains the hidden mechanics of MultiPlan, a data firm that helps health insurers set these rates and make bigger returns.
Medicaid Recipients Struggle To Stay Enrolled
Season 11, Episode 7In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â the show takes its first look at Medicaid. The program has dropped more than 22 million people since spring 2023, when covid-era protections ended.
Digging Into Facility Fees
Season 11, Episode 6âAn Arm and a Legâ is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project.
The Hack
Season 11, Episode 5In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care.
Attack of the Medicare Machines
Season 11, Episode 4In this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann tells a horror story. Instead of monsters and aliens, itâs about private health insurance companies and algorithms that call the shots on patient care.
The Medicare Episode
Season 11, Episode 3On this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann breaks down the complicated and expensive world of Medicare with practical tips to pick the right plan and avoid penalties.
Wait, Is Insulin Cheaper Now?
Season 11, Episode 2Did the price of insulin go down? Itâs not quite that simple. On this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â producer Emily Pisacreta explores recent changes to the cost of the diabetes medication.
Self-Defense 101: Keeping Your Cool While You Fight
Season 11, Episode 1On this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann seeks advice for fighting unfair medical bills from an unexpected source: an expert in self-defense.
When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 2)
Season 10, Episode 8Why do hospitals sue patients who canât afford to pay their medical bills? On this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann investigates such lawsuits and covers new laws and regulations that may change this practice.
When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 1)
Season 10, Episode 7Some hospitals sue patients over unpaid medical bills. But is this even an effective way for hospitals to recoup lost revenue? On this episode of âAn Arm and a Leg,â host Dan Weissmann speaks with medical-debt experts to explore a different solution.