An Arm and a Leg

System meltdown: employer-sponsored health insurance

Employer-sponsored health insurance covers 165.6 million Americans. It’s the default. For lots of workers, it’s a key reason to accept a job offer, or to stay in a job.  

A Texas doctor’s love letter to ‘the People’s Hospital’ (from 2023)

We’re bringing back a favorite episode from 2023 that raises a question as relevant as ever: What if we had a decent, publicly-funded health system, available to everybod

Julie Rovner is worried: Checking in with a veteran DC reporter.

Last May, just a few months into the second Trump Administration, changes to federal health programs were happening at a bewildering pace. We brought in KFF Heath News Ch

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

After her husband L was hospitalized for a severe mental health crisis, Teressa barely had a moment to breathe before the health insurance denials started coming in, bury

The Prescription Drug Playbook (Full Version)

While we’re busy working on some big projects this summer, we’re re-releasing some of our most ambitious and useful reporting to date.  Last year, we set out on a missi

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

One place you might assume is safe from prying ears is your therapy session.  But as more therapists struggle to negotiate with insurers, they’re turning to tech middle

The Supreme Court case that could slow generic drugs

It’s a case you’ve (probably) never heard of: This week, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in Hikma v. Amarin — a legal battle that could impact how much you ul

Why drugs cost so much, 101: Medicine monopolies

We’re always asking: Why do drugs cost so freaking much?  And it’s a complicated question. There are a bunch of reasons — to be sure. But in our reporting over the year

‘Not workable’: How two Americans picked a plan this year — or didn’t

This year, the price of health insurance increased dramatically for millions of people. Tens of millions. Obamacare subsidies shrunk, and premiums skyrocketed.  People

The EpiPen and Food Allergies (from Drug Story)

Hey, first! We’re looking for your help. Can you take a couple minutes and fill out our Audience Survey?  We’re dying to know more about the community that’s using this

NYT’s Ron Lieber: ‘These people are not going to win.'

Thirty-six hours before his wife was scheduled for a major surgery, New York Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber got a letter in the mail that sent him reeling. 

'Sh**’s wild': Scaling up, doubling down, and buckling in

For five years, we’ve been following the work of Dollar For and its founder Jared Walker, watching them quickly scale up their efforts to help people crush medical debt b

Our favorite project of 2025 levels up – and you can help

Hey, first!  If you value what we do, we need your support to keep it going in 2026.  We have SO much work ahead, and we can’t do it without you.   Every little bit c

Some more things that didn’t suck in 2025

Hey, first!  If you value what we do, this is the best-ever time to support our work. We have SO much work ahead in 2026. Donate here. We’re back for another look at

How to pick health insurance — in the worst year ever

Hey, first!  If you value what we do, this is the best-ever time to support our work:  This month, every donation gets matched two-for-one.   We have SO much work ahead

Some things that didn’t suck in 2025 (really)

Hey, first!  If you value what we do, this is the best-ever time to support our work:  This month, every donation gets matched two-for-one.   We have SO much work ahead

This health economist wants your medical bills

Economist Vivian Ho has been researching the US health care system for four decades. These days she focuses on what she describes as the biggest burden on the average Ame

We love this listener’s project — and your response

A listener named Thomas Sanford wrote to us earlier this year, asking for help with a little DIY project. And it’s turned into the most encouraging thing we’ve seen all y

Will we be able to afford insurance in 2026?

For the first time, our senior producer, Emily, has to sign up for Obamacare. And it turns out, it’s one heck of a year to do that.  A recent headline from KFF Health N

The Insurance Warrior battles a $61 billion company (from 2021)

Hey first! We need your help: Financial help. Donations from listeners power this show, and we’ve got a goal: 100 people making their first-ever gift, this week.  If yo