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, burying their family in medical debt.

But Teressa’s a fighter, and an organized one at that — ready to endure months of back and forth until she stumbled on a "secret door" to reversing her husband’s insurance denials: the external review. 

In this episode of Paper Trail, a podcast from the investigative journalists at ProPublica, health care reporter Duaa Eldeib and host Jessica Lussenhop follow Teressa's journey to discovering this powerful and little-known tool — and putting it to work.

Could an external review help you? Check out ProPublica’s write-up, which includes the types of denials eligible for this kind of appeal. 

And for more stories about appealing health insurance denials, you can check out our Starter Pack, which features episodes like this one about writing a killer appeal letter.  

Here's a transcript of this episode. 

Want weekly updates from the team, including some of our most practical advice for dealing with the outrageous cost of health care? Sign up for our newsletter, First Aid Kit. 

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

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

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, burying their family in medical debt.
But Teressa&rsquo;s a fighter, and an organized one at that &mdash; ready to endure months of back and forth until she stumbled on a "secret door" to reversing her husband&rsquo;s insurance denials: the external review.&nbsp;
In this episode of <a href="https://www.propublica.org/series/paper-trail">Paper Trail</a>, a podcast from the investigative journalists at ProPublica, health care reporter Duaa Eldeib and host Jessica Lussenhop follow Teressa's journey to discovering this powerful and little-known tool &mdash; and putting it to work.
Could an external review help you? Check out ProPublica&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review">write-up</a>, which includes the types of denials eligible for this kind of appeal.&nbsp;
And for more stories about appealing health insurance denials, you can check out our <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/starter-pack/insurance-denied-my-claim-how-do-i-appeal/">Starter Pack</a>, which features episodes like <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/want-to-write-a-killer-letter-to-insurance-meet-jeannine/">this one</a> about writing a killer appeal letter.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/how-to-fight-a-denial-propublica/#transcript">Here's a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp;
Want weekly updates from the team, including some of our most practical advice for dealing with the outrageous cost of health care? Sign up for our newsletter,&nbsp;<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/first-aid-kit/">First Aid Kit</a>.&nbsp;
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/">Send your stories and questions.</a> Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.
Of course we&rsquo;d love for you to<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/"> 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.