An Arm And A Leg Podcast: Why Does Health Care Cost So Much?

 In what sector do we find the most hated companies? It used to be cable, airlines or cell phone providers. However, as our health care system slowly collapses, it's the health insurance companies who now wear the black hat. And deservedly so. How can a person or a company deny life-affirming care to a customer simply to save a buck? 

We need answers. We demand answers. We want solutions.

Thankfully, there is a wonderful independent podcast called An Arm and a Leg, which is a show about "why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can (maybe) do about it."

Listen to the creator / host: "I’m Dan Weissmann. I’m a reporter, and I like a challenge. So the job I’ve chosen is: take one of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life, and bring you a show that’s entertaining, empowering, and useful."

Weismann continues: "At An Arm and a Leg, we do that with journalistic rigor, an ear for a great story, and a strong sense of community. You are not alone. We may be screwed, but we’re together. And if we want to get even a little bit less-screwed, we need to learn what we’re up against, and we need each other."

 The podcast serves a vital purpose: focusing on the myriad problems of the U.S. health care system and zeroing in on the one question we all ask: Why is health care expensive?

Weismann commits to his listeners: "I can promise you solid information, good company, and memorable stories. I hope you’ll join us, and listen in."

Or you can read too. In late 2021, Weismann and his team launched a newsletter, First Aid Kit, to pull together practical lessons about how to survive the hellscape of the U.S. health care system. 

An Arm and a Leg started as scribblings in Weismann's notebook in 2018, but he admits that they don’t make this show by myself, not by a long shot. He adds: "A crack team of journalists and producers makes this show great." 

And since 2019, "we’ve had one of the nation’s best newsrooms as a production partner: KFF Health News provides editorial consultation, distributes and promotes the show on their website and newsletters, and gives us modest financial support.  You can read more about them and our partnership here," says Weismann.

Weismann continues: "Most of all, community support powers our work. Tips from listeners are behind many of our episodes, we’d love to hear from you, and many hundreds of listeners support us with donations. That’s our single biggest source of income, and we’d love for you to support us too."

Weismann is emphatic that they do not accept advertising or underwriting from entities in the business of health care (or health insurance, or anything like them). 

 Who is Dan Weissmann, Creator & Host?

Prior to creating An Arm and a Leg, Dan was a staff reporter for Marketplace and Chicago’s WBEZ.  His reporting has appeared on outlets like 99 Percent Invisible, Planet Money, Reveal, Code Switch, and NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Before working in audio, he spent many years as a print reporter, frequently musing, “Audio seems like where the real fun is. How do I break into that?” His work reflects sophisticated reporting, an engaging narrative voice, and a knack for snappy, accurate breakdowns of complex subjects, from urban segregation to the economics of America’s largest crop to the engineering miracles that turned the Chicago River into a sewer. Dan lives in the beautiful village of Skokie, Illinois, with his beautiful family.

Editor Ellen Weiss is an award-winning journalist and leader with more than 40 years experience working in audio, video and digital newsrooms. Most recently, as Washington Bureau Chief and Vice President of The E. W. Scripps Company, she created a multimedia national investigative team and launched podcasting for the company. While there, she received her fourth Peabody Award for the “Under the Radar” investigative series and the RFK’s Journalism Grand Prize for the investigative documentary A Broken Trust, a project highlighting the lack of justice for survivors of sexual assault on tribal lands.

Prior to that, she spent nearly 30 years at NPR and served as Senior Vice President of News. In that role, she oversaw the global expansion of NPR News, the creation of award-winning programs an investigative unit, podcasts, and the digital integration of the newsroom.

Weiss is a graduate of Smith College with a B.A. in international relations. She and her family live in Washington, D.C.

What topics does the podcast cover? The podcast began in 2020 and has released over 100 episodes so far. A recent episode exemplifies the DNA of the show. In the episode, Dan Weismann tells us: "A few months ago, we got a note from a listener named Meagan, who wanted to thank us. She said the stories she heard on this show had given her the advice and encouragement she needed to finally win a fight against a medical bill she didn’t owe — a battle she’d been waging for more than two years.

As Meagan tells us, those two years were filled with wild twists and turns and a lot of disappointment. During that ordeal, Meagan battled an ambulance company that kept demanding payment when she had already met her out-of-pocket max for the year and owed nothing. That resolution took two years. Then, a $3,000 bill for an ER visit pitted her against UnitedHealth Care and Kaiser.

You'll hear what kept her motivated and encouraged despite all the setbacks – and after an insurance rep pointed her to a free legal resource — the tactic that finally led to a breakthrough. 

It's so invigorating! I love it when health care insurance companies and large hospitals get their comeuppance.

Another recent episode reviewed the veracity and accuracy of the MAX TV show The Pitt, starring Noah Wyle. On the episode, ER Dr. Alex Janke commends the show for its medical, administrative, and procedural accuracy. Of course, the tragic part is that Dr. Janke reinforces the TV show's view of powerful medical, financial, social, and political forces that transform health care into a roller coaster ride with no seat belt and with a blindfold on.

The episode runtimes are less than 30 minutes, and Weissman kills it as a host. This isn't a job to him. It's also a crusade.

 Check out An Arm and a Leg. It's an indie podcast that can make you a more informed consumer of health care, provide you with tools to battle bottom-line-centric health care insurance companies, and understand the complexities of trying to stay both healthy and financially secure in a system where the two are often exclusive of one another.