‘An Arm and a Leg’ podcast explores the cost of health care in the U.S. (NPR, All Things Considered)

Hey there— What’s scarier than major surgery? How about getting a letter from your insurance company less than two days before surgery, saying they’re not paying the bill? Oh, and the letter arrives on Saturday. You’ve been out all day, so you get it Saturday night. Surgery’s scheduled for first thing Monday. You can try making calls on a Sunday

The situation: You need a mole removed. Or a root canal. Or a hearing test. Or something lifesaving, like cancer treatment. A big scary bill is looming on the horizon, and you don’t think your insurance is going to protect you. But your provider has a solution: signing you up for a medical credit card, like CareCredit or HealthiPlan, or

Hey there, A couple weeks ago, we made the case for getting your annual checkups early this year. Most of us think of these checkups as “preventive care” — the kinds of services that the Affordable Care Act says your insurance company needs to cover 100%, even if you haven’t met your deductible. But we get lots of emails from pissed-off listeners wondering why

Hey there— Our plan for today’s new podcast episode was simple: Check in with the founder of a scrappy organization that’s been inspiring us for five years to hear about their 2025 triumphs and their plans for 2026. That organization would be Dollar For, a nonprofit that helps people crush medical bills by connecting them with charity care — financial assistance that hospitals are

Hey there, and happy New Year! We’re kicking off the year with a story and some advice from the early days of An Arm and a Leg that (unfortunately) remains relevant year after year. Back when the show was just getting started, Dan got an email from a listener named Rebecca in New York City. The subject line: “Don’t get sick in