An $88 “observation room” fee for a check-up didn’t sit right with Kari Greene, a listener from Oregon. When the price went up to $99 the next year, Kari complained to her benefits rep; they thought it was weird, too — but couldn’t do anything about it. 


In states like Connecticut and Indiana, legislators are trying to do something about fees like these – often called “facility fees.” 


In this episode, we go deep on Kari’s bill, one of dozens that listeners have shared with us over the past few months. 


And we talk with Christine Monahan, a researcher and attorney who knows more about facility fees — and state efforts to limit them — than any other expert in the country.


Here’s a transcript of this episode. 


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


Of course we’d love for you tosupport this show.

An $88 “observation room” fee for a check-up didn’t sit right with Kari Greene, a listener from Oregon. When the price went up to $99 the next year, Kari complained to her benefits rep; they thought it was weird, too — but couldn’t do anything about it.&nbsp; In states like Connecticut and Indiana, legislators are trying to do something about fees like these – often called “facility fees.”&nbsp; In this episode, we go deep on Kari’s bill, one of dozens that listeners have shared with us over the past few months.&nbsp; And we talk with Christine Monahan, a researcher and attorney who knows more about facility fees — and state efforts to limit them — than any other expert in the country. <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WEB-TRANSCRIPT_S12_Ep04_Facility-Fee-part-2.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Here’s a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Send your stories and questions.</a> Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG. Of course we’d love for you to<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> 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.

An Arm and a Leg

States are tackling facility fees, but it’s slow going.

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