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 everybody, with or without insurance? 

We’ve got one, says Dr. Ricardo Nuila. It’s where he works.  

And it could be a model for the whole country. Yes, really. 

That’s the pitch he made in his 2023 book, The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine. It’s a love letter to Houston’s Ben Taub hospital, and an argument for bringing Ben Taub’s model, efficient, innovative, and cheap, to the rest of the country.

And if that seems unlikely in today’s political climate, well: Ben Taub’s wild origin story was plenty unlikely too. 

That story takes us to the 1960s, when Dutch novelist and playwright Jan de Hartog moved to Houston. He fell in love with the bustling, futuristic home of NASA and the Astrodome. 

But he also discovered the city’s dreadful underside: a neglected charity hospital where largely African-American patients are left to seek health care in unsanitary and unsafe, hellish, conditions. 

De Hartog and a group of Quaker volunteers waged a campaign to change that, and eventually found an unlikely ally who brought it over the finish line. 

The People’s Hospital is a heck of a book. We might want to start a book group someday, just to talk about it. If you want to grab a copy, here’s a link. (Or: Audiobook, or ebook.)

Here's a transcript of this episode.

Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.

And of course we’d love for you to support this show.

We&rsquo;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 everybody, with or without insurance?&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve got one, says Dr. Ricardo Nuila. It&rsquo;s where he works.&nbsp;&nbsp;
And it could be a model for the whole country. Yes, really.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s the pitch he made in his 2023 book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Peoples-Hospital/Ricardo-Nuila/9781501198045">The People&rsquo;s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine</a>. It&rsquo;s a love letter to Houston&rsquo;s Ben Taub hospital, and an argument for bringing Ben Taub&rsquo;s model, efficient, innovative, and cheap, to the rest of the country.
And if that seems unlikely in today&rsquo;s political climate, well: Ben Taub&rsquo;s wild origin story was plenty unlikely too.&nbsp;
That story takes us to the 1960s, when Dutch novelist and playwright Jan de Hartog moved to Houston. He fell in love with the bustling, futuristic home of NASA and the Astrodome.&nbsp;
But he also discovered the city&rsquo;s dreadful underside: a neglected charity hospital where largely African-American patients are left to seek health care in unsanitary and unsafe, hellish, conditions.&nbsp;
De Hartog and a group of Quaker volunteers waged a campaign to change that, and eventually found an unlikely ally who brought it over the finish line.&nbsp;
The People&rsquo;s Hospital is a heck of a book. We might want to start a book group someday, just to talk about it. If you want to grab a copy, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-people-s-hospital-hope-and-peril-in-american-medicine-ricardo-nuila/18667829?ean=9781501198045">here&rsquo;s a link</a>. (Or: <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Peoples-Hospital/Ricardo-Nuila/9781797151915">Audiobook</a>, or <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Peoples-Hospital/Ricardo-Nuila/9781501198069">ebook</a>.)
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/the-peoples-hospital-2026/#transcript">Here's a transcript of this episode</a>.
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/">Send your stories and questions.</a> Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
And of course we&rsquo;d love for you to <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/match/">support this show</a>.

An Arm and a Leg is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.

If you’ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you’re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting — you’re not always helpless. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart. 

An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with KFF Health News and distributed in partnership with KUOW.

You can support An Arm and a Leg by donating at armandalegshow.com/support/

Show Credits: Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.

An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.
If you&rsquo;ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you&rsquo;re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting &mdash; you&rsquo;re not always helpless. We don&rsquo;t have all the answers, but we&rsquo;ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart.&nbsp;
An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/">KFF Health News</a> and distributed in partnership with <a href="https://www.kuow.org/">KUOW</a>.
You can support An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;by donating at <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/">armandalegshow.com/support/</a>
<hr>
Show Credits:&nbsp;Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.