Is it possible for a health care company to make enough people mad about their billing practices that it hurts their business? For one genetic testing company, maybe so. 


An Arm and a Leg listener Jessica got a test that’s become routine in early pregnancy: non-invasive prenatal testing. It was supposed to be $99. But then — after she took the test — that turned into $250. And when she asked questions, she was told it could go up to $800 if she didn’t pay up quick. , Jessica looked up the testing company, and found out that lots of people experienced what she called “the genetic testing bait-and-switch.”


And she’s not the only one who noticed.


When some guys on Wall Street, plus New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff, started hearing about those bills, the company found itself in some hot water. 

Here’s a transcript of the episode. 


Bonus reading:
Sarah Kliff and Aatish Bhatia’s reporting on non-invasive prenatal testing
A scorching report on Natera from Hindenburg Research
Andrew Rice’s story on Hindenburg Research: "The Last Sane Man on Wall Street" 




Send your stories and questions: https://armandalegshow.com/contact/ or call 724 ARM-N-LEG


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

Is it possible for a health care company to make enough people mad about their billing practices that it hurts their business? For one genetic testing company, maybe so.&nbsp; An Arm and a Leg listener Jessica got a test that’s become routine in early pregnancy: non-invasive prenatal testing. It was supposed to be $99. But then — after she took the test — that turned into $250. And when she asked questions, she was told it could go up to $800 if she didn’t pay up quick. , Jessica looked up the testing company, and found out that lots of people experienced what she called “the genetic testing bait-and-switch.” And she’s not the only one who noticed. When some guys on Wall Street, plus New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff, started hearing about those bills, the company found itself in some hot water.&nbsp;<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Web-transcript_S07_Ep07_Genetic-testing.docx.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Here’s a transcript of the episode</a>.&nbsp; Bonus reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/01/upshot/pregnancy-birth-genetic-testing.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sarah Kliff and Aatish Bhatia’s reporting on non-invasive prenatal testing</a></li><li><a href="https://hindenburgresearch.com/natera/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A scorching report on Natera from Hindenburg Research</a></li><li><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/01/nathan-anderson-hindenburg-research-short-selling.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andrew Rice’s story on Hindenburg Research: "The Last Sane Man on Wall Street"&nbsp;</a></li></ul> Send your stories and questions: <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://armandalegshow.com/contact/</a> or call 724 ARM-N-LEG And of course we’d love for you to <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/match/" 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

Can a health care company make enough people mad to face… actual consequences?

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