Hey first! We need your help: Financial help. Donations from listeners power this show, and we’ve got a goal: 100 people making their first-ever gift, this week. 

If you haven’t chipped in before, this is a great time — just click here.

OK, onwards…

Sharing a favorite from our archive – with lessons that are as relevant as ever. 

Laurie Todd calls herself The Insurance Warrior. She fights health insurance for a living. Her speciality: writing appeals when insurance companies deny high-stakes, high-dollar treatments.

Her first victory was fighting to get coverage for her own life-saving cancer surgery – which we chronicled in an episode tracing her origin story. 

Since then, she says she’s notched hundreds of other victories, and outlined her strategies in two books: Fight Your Health Insurer and Win and APPROVED: Win Your Insurance Appeal in 5 Days.

In this episode, we go deep on one of Laurie’s early, super-instructive cases, that taught Laurie one of the weirder truths about health insurance in America: fighting your health insurance often means fighting… your employer. 

And in this case, that employer was a $61 billion company. 

Want more about winning insurance appeals? Here’s our starter pack.

Here is a transcript of this episode. 

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

Hey first! We need your help: Financial help. Donations from listeners power this show, and we&rsquo;ve got a goal: 100 people making their first-ever gift, this week.&nbsp;
If you haven&rsquo;t chipped in before, this is a great time &mdash; <a href="http://armandalegshow.com/support">just click here</a>.
OK, onwards&hellip;
Sharing a favorite from our archive &ndash; with lessons that are as relevant as ever.&nbsp;
Laurie Todd calls herself The Insurance Warrior. She fights health insurance for a living. Her speciality: writing appeals when insurance companies deny high-stakes, high-dollar treatments.
Her first victory was fighting to get coverage for her own life-saving cancer surgery &ndash; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/insurance-warrior-part-one/">which we chronicled in an episode tracing her origin story</a>.&nbsp;
Since then, she says she&rsquo;s notched hundreds of other victories, and outlined her strategies in&nbsp;<a href="https://theinsurancewarrior.com/books/">two books</a>: Fight Your Health Insurer and Win and APPROVED: Win Your Insurance Appeal in 5 Days.
In this episode, we go deep on one of Laurie&rsquo;s early, super-instructive cases, that taught Laurie one of the weirder truths about health insurance in America: fighting your health insurance often means fighting&hellip; your employer.&nbsp;
And in this case, that employer was a $61 billion company.&nbsp;
Want more about winning insurance appeals? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/starter-pack/insurance-denied-my-claim-how-do-i-appeal/">Here&rsquo;s our starter pack</a>.
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/insurance-warrior-2025/#transcript">Here is a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp;
<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact-us/">Send your stories and questions</a>. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.

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.

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