An Arm and a Leg

Latest Episodes:

Fighting for the Right to Help Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

It’s illegal to advise someone who’s being sued for medical debt, unless you're a lawyer. Yep, really. Even in its most basic form (like helping people fill out a checklist) it’s considered the “unlicensed practice of law.” And it’s a crime. As in, you could go to jail.

So some New Yorkers are suing to get that changed.

The non-profit Upsolve wants to help people represent themselves in court when they’re being sued over debt. Their plan is to train people like pastors, social workers, and librarians and others to help people others know their rights. And iIn the Bronx, Reverend John Udo-Okon is one of those volunteers, ready to help.

We meet the CEO of Upsolve and Reverend John to talk about their work – and why they’re suing the state of New York.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

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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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Swimming with sharks Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

Pharma and insurance companies play devious, clever games, competing for dollars. They’re sharks! It’d be fun to track, but they’re eating us alive.

If anyone could beat the sharks at this game, we’d pick Lillian Karabaic, who runs the personal finance show/community called Oh My Dollar! — and is SUPER on-top-of her stuff.

But Lillian recently got socked with an unexpected $3,000 charge— and expects to lose her very-organized fight against it.

Understanding how Lillian got here — how pretty much any of us could, and how we can start to fight back, together — means understanding the games these big sharks are playing.

Which is exactly what we do in our latest episode, with Lillian’s expert — and often very-funny — guidance.

This episode goes deep on a shark game called a “copay accumulator” policy. In short, they’re an invention by the insurance industry to make sure only YOUR money counts toward your yearly deductible — not any assistance you may receive from a drug company.

One thing we learned: Finding out if your insurance plan even includes one of these policies can be extremely tough: Otherwise, Lillian — who did her extremely-good best to check for this very information — wouldn’t have gotten taken by surprise.

We’ve got a little bit of help to offer: Researchers from a nonprofit called The AIDS Institute also researched this question, looking at hundreds of plans across the country. And they developed a tip sheet a tip sheet to help guide their search: How to search online, what questions to ask if the information just isn’t online (which happens).

More resources:

For tips on how to avoid overpaying for drugs — when that’s possible — check out the latest edition of our First Aid Kit newsletter.
There’s a third bunch of sharks involved in this drug-pricing game: Middleman companies called Pharmacy Benefit Managers. If you want to understand the role they play, here’s an Arm and a Leg episode about them.
A dozen states have banned copay accumulators, and more are considering it. This short report includes a list of those dozen states.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

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.

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

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Introducing: Half Vaxxed Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Last year we brought you the story — part caper, part tragedy — of how Philadelphia tried to hand off its COVID vaccination program to a wannabe tech bro right out of college. We built on the work of reporter Nina Feldman and her colleagues at WHYY. Now, they've laid out the entire thing in a podcast of their own, called Half Vaxxed. It’s terrific. Funny in places, horrifying in others, and full of lessons.

We'll be back in a few weeks to start the next batch of Arm and a Leg episodes. Meanwhile, we hope you'll enjoy the first episode of Half Vaxxed.

Meanwhile, don't miss our First Aid Kit newsletter, where we're sharing practical tips on surviving the world's most-expensive health care system.

Catch all of Half Vaxxed here

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

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Introducing: Last Day Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Stephanie Wittels Wachs has made the show about a topic that's actually too enraging, terrifying, and depressing for An Arm and a Leg: the opioid crisis. And it's as entertaining, empowering and useful as we could ever want. It's called Last Day. Here's episode 1. (In case you need convincing that it's entertaining, we'll tell you: In this episode, she interviews comedians Sarah Silverman and Aziz Ansari at length.)

Part of what makes Last Day so good is that Stephanie is a great storyteller — as well a truly tireless crusader, and a witty, real-as-they-come human being. We should know — we had her on An Arm and a Leg to talk about how she and a few other Texas moms got state laws changed to cover hearing aids for kids. (You can catch that episode here: https://armandalegshow.com/episode/mom-vs-texas/)

If you haven't already met her there, you're going to love her here.

It turns out that nearly everybody you know is either struggling with — or loves someone, or knows someone — who is struggling with some really difficult shit.

...and for some reason, we continue to keep these stories hidden away. Just eating at our insides.

This is a show about that.

Stephanie Wittels Wachs, from Season 1, episode 1 of Last Day.

Last Day made a second season, about suicide and mental health, and its third season, about America's gun-violence epidemic, is coming this spring. You can listen to everything, and subscribe to get new episodes, here: https://lemonadamedia.com/show/lastday/

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Meet your new rights under the No Surprises Act Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

The No Surprises Act — a new law that protects us from some outrageous out-of-network hospital bills — takes effect this month. That's great news, but (and there’s always a but) there are some important caveats to know about.

Like, for instance: these protections only apply to care you get in a hospital. Then there’s the deceptively-named Surprise Billing Protection form they might ask you to sign. And there’s more.

We break down what you need to know about your rights under this new law, what traps to look out for, and who to call if something smells fishy.

Actually, here: The federal hotline for reporting No Surprises Act violations: 1-800-985-3059.

Big thanks to our guides: Patricia Kelmar, Health Care Campaigns Director at U.S. PIRG, and Julia Nigrelli from health care consulting firm Chi-Matic.

The federal hotline for reporting No Surprises Act violations: 1-800-985-3059.

Here’s a transcript for the episode.

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.

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2022 update: How to avoid a big bill for your COVID test (feat. Sarah Kliff) Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

COVID testing—the kind they send to a lab— is supposed to be free in the U.S. But it’s never been quite that simple. We’re revisiting our sadly-still-relevant interview with Sarah Kliff from the New York Times, who joined us in November 2020 to share what she learned from reading hundreds of COVID testing bills.

Her advice? Avoid the ER, do some research ahead of time, and ask if they’re going to do any other tests (which may not be covered 100%).

We summed up some of her advice in a recent First Aid Kit newsletter, and then added some more COVID-test advice in this week's First Aid Kit.

Here's a transcript for this episode.

Got a story to tell, or a wild bill to share? Get in touch.

We can only make this show because listeners like you support us. Wanna pitch in?

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Our Year in Review, with members of the Arm and a Leg team Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

An Arm and a Leg wraps up a big year, and some of the team takes a moment to reflect. Consulting Managing Producer Daisy Rosario, Editor Marian Wang, and Associate Producer Emily Pisacreta join host Dan Weissmann in a conversation on why we make the show and what we look forward to doing in 2022.

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

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Why rapid COVID tests are so freaking expensive Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

Who’s making a buck: rapid test edition. Rapid, at-home COVID tests are pretty much essential if you want to see friends and family this holiday season, and stay safe.

But they’re freaking expensive and can be hard to find. What the heck happened?

When ProPublica reporter Eric Umansky went looking for COVID tests recently, he came back empty handed. He and fellow reporter Lydia DePillis investigated, tracing the US’s rapid testing problem all the way back to the FDA and other government agencies.

Plus, Dr. Celine Gounder talks about why these tests are so important in the first place and how best to deploy them this holiday season — if you can find some.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

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.

UPDATE: We've pushed past the amount the NewsMatch campaign has funds to match(!)

... and we can keep going with your help. And earn a bonus.

If we raise $5,000 to match funds folks have already donated, the Knight Foundation will give us a $1,000 bonus.

Please help us now! Gotta get it done by Dec. 31. Here, go for it.

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Fighting with health insurance is easy (for Jacqueline Fox) Dec 09, 2021

Show notes

Health insurance is like some medieval horror, says law professor Jackie Fox. But, funny thing: She also says insurance fights are easy. For her. She’s been helping people win them for 30 years.

Jackie Fox has a lot to teach us. And class is in session.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

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.

This month, every dollar you donate is DOUBLED, thanks to NewsMatch and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Holy cow, what a deal. Here, go for it.

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to avoid the crappiest health insurance. Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

We kick off with a wild ride: How one journalist almost got roped into a scam.

While hunting for a new insurance plan, Mitra Kaboli got an offer that seemed too good to be true—but seemed to be coming from her current insurer. Mitra was skeptical, and it turns out, she had every reason to be. Dania Palanker from Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms unpacks this sketchy scheme, and gives us the key to avoiding it: When you're searching for health insurance... skip Google. Seriously.

Then, some top health insurance nerds teach us how to really shop for health insurance: where to find the fine print and how to read it.

They also deliver some good news (for once): Thanks to subsidies in the American Rescue Plan some deals this year are actually… deals! Meaning: health insurance got more affordable for lots of people this year. Here's the subsidy calculator we mention in the episode.

Want to read all of those tips in one place? Check out First Aid Kit, the newsletter where we're summing up all the practical stuff we've been learning since this show launched.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

And of course we’d love for you to support this show. This month, every dollar you donate is DOUBLED, thanks to NewsMatch and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Holy cow, what a deal. Here, go for it.

Support the show: https://armandalegshow.com/support/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.