When Mattew Lientz needed surgery to save his life, his insurance wouldn’t cover it. Enter: Laurie Todd, the Insurance Warrior. Her first task: Figuring out who Matthew was really fighting, and how big the battle really was.


Together, Matthew, his wife Diane, and Laurie made the case for Matthew’s life. Fourteen years later, the speeches they gave in a conference room full of insurance executives are a masterclass in winning insurance appeals — and living to tell the tale. 


The battle also illustrates a lesson that Laurie Todd learned while fighting it: Fighting your health insurance often means fighting... your employer. Yep, most employers “self-insure.” 


And in this case, that employer was one of the biggest companies in the world.


Here’s a transcript of the episode. 

For the Insurance Warrior's origin story, check out our previous episode.

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.

This month, every dollar you donate is DOUBLED, thanks to NewsMatch and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Holy cow, what a deal. Here, go for it. 

When Mattew Lientz needed surgery to save his life, his insurance wouldn’t cover it. Enter: Laurie Todd, the Insurance Warrior. Her first task: Figuring out who Matthew was really fighting, and how big the battle really was. Together, Matthew, his wife Diane, and Laurie made the case for Matthew’s life. Fourteen years later, the speeches they gave in a conference room full of insurance executives are a masterclass in winning insurance appeals — and living to tell the tale.&nbsp; The battle also illustrates a lesson that Laurie Todd learned while fighting it: Fighting your health insurance often means fighting... your employer. Yep, most employers “self-insure.”&nbsp; And in this case, that employer was one of the biggest companies in the world. Here’s a <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Web_transcript_S6-Ep07_Insurance-Warrior-2-Nov-5-Draft.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">transcript of the episode</a>.&nbsp;For the Insurance Warrior's origin story, check out <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/insurance-warrior-part-one/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our previous episode</a>.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<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>And of course we’d love for you to <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">support this show</a>.This month, every dollar you donate is DOUBLED, thanks to NewsMatch and the Institute for Nonprofit News.Holy cow, what a deal. Here, <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">go for it</a>.&nbsp;

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

When Mattew Lientz needed surgery to save his life, his insurance wouldn’t cover it. Enter: Laurie Todd, the Insurance Warrior. Her first task: Figuring out who Matthew was really fighting, and how big the battle really was.

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