Knock out your check-ups early in the year — seriously

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 Q4.”

Obviously, no one can control when they get sick. Sickness happens in every fiscal quarter.

But as you’ll see, Rebecca’s story points to more actionable advice: You can control when you get screened for certain conditions — and that timing could make a huge difference in how much you pay for health care.

First, some great news: We hit our fundraising goal!

We’re absolutely floored by the amount of support you showed us in November and December, allowing us to totally crush our big fundraising goal.

To everyone who chipped in: THANK YOU SO MUCH!

At a time when everything around us feels like chaos, we’re beyond grateful we get to keep doing this work and are so encouraged by your generosity.

… and we love the comments that came with so many of your gifts. This one is a favorite:

This amount, $85.23, is the amount I avoided paying because you taught me how to take notes when speaking to my insurance company, always getting the name of the representative and the call reference number.

Right on! Ok, here’s today’s lesson:

Why you shouldn’t wait to get yearly check-ups and screenings

Rebecca thought she had her system down pat for squeezing in one of life’s more uncomfortable chores: Scheduling that routine mammogram for August, when work was slow, and people leaving town made it easier to find a time slot.

But in 2014, the results weren’t routine. This time, the mammogram showed abnormalities, and soon after, Rebecca got the terrible news: She had breast cancer.

September brought a flurry of appointments, followed by surgery in October. Then, in January, she started radiation.

Even with that scary diagnosis, Rebecca says she feels lucky. The treatment worked. She had health insurance and enough financial security to weather the out-of-pocket costs.

But like more than 40% of people with private insurance, Rebecca’s plan had a steep deductible — $6,000 — which she’d have to spend out-of-pocket before her insurance would kick in.

And she hadn’t spent anything close to that on health care by the time she was diagnosed. That meant paying out-of-pocket for much of her treatment that fall.

Worse, she still had lots of expensive treatment ahead when the new year started, and her deductible reset to zero.

Rebecca thinks if she’d gone for her mammogram earlier in the year, she would’ve only been on the hook for $6,000. “Instead, I was almost immediately in the hole for $12,000,” she said.

So heed Rebecca’s warning and schedule your checkups and yearly screenings now. Don’t wait for the most convenient time.

Because holy crap: if you go in for that routine test and they find something concerning, you might be facing months of more tests, doctor’s visits — maybe even procedures.

And in that case, you want to hit your deductible and get that care as early in the plan year as possible. Or else, you could end up on the hook for thousands of extra dollars.

Our favorite TV show returned for Season 2 last night

We’re talking about HBO’s The Pitt, a series depicting the drama, dysfunction, and deeply-felt pathos of a single day’s shift in a hospital emergency room — told in “real time,” hour-by-hour.

On the podcast last year, we talked with an actual, real-life emergency physician about what the show gets right about how hospitals work — and the upstream problems leading to crowding, eternal wait times, and scary bills.

Did you catch last night’s season premiere? Tell us what you thought!

And if you’re on Bluesky, go ahead and tell us in the replies.

Next week we’ll have a new podcast episode for you.

And after that, we’ll dive into another topic relevant to those appointments we hope we’ve now convinced you to make ASAP: What counts as “preventive” care, available at no cost — and what could complicate it.

Til then,

— Emily, Claire, and Dan