First Aid Kit Archive • An Arm And a Leg

First Aid Kit

Our newsletter sums up and shares the practical lessons we’ve learned about surviving the health care system, financially.

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Chatbots haven’t totally nailed fighting medical bills

Plus: Is your doctor using an AI scribe?

Avoiding Ripoffs

Help: My doctor is billing me by text?

Don’t click to pay — do this instead.

The Big Picture

New episode! Why drugs cost so much, 101: Medicine monopolies

The backroom deal that set the rules, and the boardwalk guy who brokered them.

The Big Picture

Discount dental care, medical debt update, and other stories

What we've been chattering about.

Prior Authorization: Lessons, Strategies and Stories

And a hilariously-gross video, if you dare.

The Big Picture

New episode: How two Americans picked insurance — or didn’t

Their take? “Not workable.” “You just have to laugh.”

Why did insurance really deny your claim?

With this tool, you could find out — and fight back.

Navigating Insurance

$31K deductibles on ACA plans?

The Trump administration is proposing them, and more.

The Big Picture

February 26, 2026

The EpiPen and Food Allergies (from Drug Story)

How a lifesaving — and notoriously expensive — drug came to be.

February 20, 2026

Hey, help us do our jobs better

Take our quick survey, okay?

Navigating Insurance

February 13, 2026

A new resource for folks going uninsured

Another one to bookmark or share.

Looking for something?

For topic-specific deep dives and recommended reading, check out our Starter Packs or use the search bar below to explore our site.

More of our reporting

Starter Packs

Jumping off points: Our best episodes and our best answers to some big questions.

Explore our Starter Packs →

Tell me a story about someone being awesome

It takes skills, patience, and guts to take on the health care system. We could all use a little inspiration.

Help! I’m in collections for medical debt.

So, a debt collector is chasing you over a medical bill. Here's what we've learned about what to do if you're facing debt collection.

How to wipe out your medical bill with charity care

Our guide to an under-the-radar but essential resource for wiping out medical debt.

How do I shop for health insurance?

Picking a health insurance plan can be super confusing. Here's our best advice.

Help! I’m stuck with a gigantic medical bill.

Don't freak out. We've laid out tips to help you manage your medical bills.

See All Our Starter Packs

If you don't know where to start or are just getting to know us, we recommend you start here.

Podcast Episodes

Our show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it.

Explore the podcast →

How to Fight a Health Insurance Denial With a Little-Known Tool (from ProPublica’s Paper Trail)

Remember these words: external review — a powerful and too-little-known insurance appeal.

The Prescription Drug Playbook (Full Version)

The best advice we've heard about what to do when you can't afford your meds (from 2025)

The Chatbot Will See You Now: Big Tech In Therapy (from Organized Money)

The mental health middlemen selling your data, and one state’s solution (From "Organized Money")

The Supreme Court case that could slow generic drugs

The Supreme Court hears a case about "skinny labels" — a legal carveout used by generic drugmakers — that has major stakes for patients.

Why drugs cost so much, 101: Medicine monopolies

How a street-smart patent lawyer helped shape a grand bargain between brand-name and generic drug companies — and the unforeseen consequences he's determined to fix.

See the Episode Archive

One of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life made entertaining, empowering, and useful.