When a subsidiary of the giant UnitedHealth Group got hit by a cyberattack recently, a big chunk of the country’s doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and therapists just stopped getting paid. 


It’s been a huge disruption, with some providers wondering if they can keep their doors open.


But thanks to their huge size and reach, the situation may have had a silver lining — for United.


Which seems like a big problem, and got us wondering: What can we maybe do about it?


The answer turns out to be: Maybe more than we think, via antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.


Strap in for a wild ride — and then maybe check out FTC Chair Lina Khan’s talk with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. We include some short excerpts, but the whole thing is worth a watch.


Thanks to reporters Brittany Trang (STAT News) and Maureen Tkacik (The American Prospect) for guiding us through their reporting.


And to the novelist/journalist/activist Cory Doctorow, who has been writing about antitrust enforcement for years. Here are a couple of his columns about Lina Khan and what she and other antitrust enforcers are up to.


If you want a deeper dive on the new antitrust movement: It’s summed up in a terrific (and short) book by Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor and former White House adviser: The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. 


And you may be able to get it for free! If your local library uses a system called Hoopla, you can borrow it as either an audiobook or an ebook.


Super-fun tangent: Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu went to elementary school together — and apparently played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons — when they were kids in Toronto. 


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.

When a subsidiary of the giant UnitedHealth Group got hit by a cyberattack recently, a big chunk of the country’s doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and therapists just stopped getting paid.&nbsp; It’s been a huge disruption, with some providers wondering if they can keep their doors open. But thanks to their huge size and reach, the situation may have had a silver lining — for United. Which seems like a big problem, and got us wondering: What can we maybe do about it? The answer turns out to be: Maybe more than we think, via antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Strap in for a wild ride — and then maybe check out FTC Chair Lina Khan’s talk with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. We include some short excerpts, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDTiWaYfcM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">but the whole thing is worth a watch</a>. Thanks to reporters <a href="https://www.statnews.com/staff/brittany-trang/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brittany Trang</a> (STAT News) and <a href="https://prospect.org/topics/maureen-tkacik/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maureen Tkacik</a> (The American Prospect) for guiding us through their reporting. And to the novelist/journalist/activist <a href="https://twitter.com/doctorow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cory Doctorow</a>, who has been writing about antitrust enforcement for years. Here are a couple of his columns <a href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">about Lina Khan</a> and <a href="https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/09/rest-in-piss-robert-bork/#harmful-dominance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">what she and other antitrust enforcers are up to</a>. If you want a deeper dive on the new antitrust movement: It’s summed up in a terrific (and short) book by Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor and former White House adviser:&nbsp;<a href="https://globalreports.columbia.edu/books/the-curse-of-bigness/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age</a>.&nbsp; And you may be able to get it for free! If your local library uses a system called <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hoopla</a>, you can borrow it as either an <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobook/the-curse-of-bigness-tim-wu/12698727" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">audiobook</a> or an <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/ebook/the-curse-of-bigness-tim-wu/12224869" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ebook</a>. Super-fun tangent: Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu went to elementary school together — and apparently played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons — <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/toronto/toronto-superstar-academic-who-coined-net-neutrality-could-be-nominee-for-n-y-lieutenant-governor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">when they were kids in Toronto</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Web-transcript_S11-Ep05_the-hack.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. And 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

A cyberattack against a giant gets us thinking about antitrust.

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