Charity care — financial assistance that nonprofit hospitals are required to offer — is one of the most powerful tools we have to avoid medical debt. But for too many people, that help is hidden. 

The journalists at the podcast Tradeoffs teamed up with our colleagues at KFF Health News to look at what happened when a new state law in Oregon brought charity care out of the shadows, forcing hospitals to auto-enroll people who qualify. 

Check out the rest of Tradeoffs and KFF Health News’s series Hidden Help.

Here’s a transcript of this episode. 

As always, please share your stories and questions. 

To get our best advice and updates, sign up for the First Aid Kit newsletter.

And: Donations from listeners are our single biggest source of funding.

We’d love for you to pitch in today.

Charity care &mdash; financial assistance that nonprofit hospitals are required to offer &mdash; is one of the most powerful tools we have to avoid medical debt. But for too many people, that help is hidden.&nbsp;
The journalists at the podcast <a href="https://tradeoffs.org/">Tradeoffs</a> teamed up with our colleagues at <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/">KFF Health News</a> to look at what happened when a new state law in Oregon brought charity care out of the shadows, forcing hospitals to auto-enroll people who qualify.&nbsp;
Check out the rest of Tradeoffs and KFF Health News&rsquo;s series <a href="https://tradeoffs.org/projects/hidden-help/">Hidden Help</a>.
<a href="https://tradeoffs.org/2026/10/08/hidden-help-what-happened-when-oregon-forced-hospitals-to-boost-financial-aid/">Here&rsquo;s a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp;
As always, please <a href="http://armandalegshow.com/contact">share your stories and questions</a>.&nbsp;
To get our best advice and updates, <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/first-aid-kit/">sign up for the First Aid Kit newsletter</a>.
And: Donations from listeners are our single biggest source of funding.
<a href="http://armandalegshow.com/support">We&rsquo;d love for you to pitch in today</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.