Dan Weissmann
In April, Thomas Sanford, a medical scholar who commonly listens to “An Arm and a Leg,” got down to create a useful resource he might simply share with sufferers to assist them take care of unaffordable medical payments.
In this mini-episode, host Dan Weissmann talks with Sanford about how handing out charity care data on tiny playing cards snowballed into an ever-growing checklist of sources to erase medical debt. They focus on the inspiration behind his challenge, the function “An Arm and a Leg” listeners performed in constructing it, and the way others can contribute.
Dan Weissmann
Host and producer of “An Arm and a Leg.” Previously, Dan was a employees reporter for Marketplace and Chicago’s WBEZ. His work additionally seems on All Things Considered, Marketplace, the BBC, 99 Percent Invisible, and Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Credits
Emily Pisacreta
Producer
Claire Davenport
Producer
Adam Raymonda
Audio wizard
Ellen Weiss
Editor
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Transcript: A Listener’s DIY Project Helps Others Deal With High Medical Bills
Note: “An Arm and a Leg” makes use of speech-recognition software program to generate transcripts, which can comprise errors. Please use the transcript as a software however examine the corresponding audio earlier than quoting the podcast.
Dan: Hey there. So right here’s a narrative — a challenge — that’s given me extra encouragement than something I can consider recently. It’s pushed by you– by listeners to this present.
One of my massive desires for An Arm and a Leg, from virtually the start, has been to attach folks, to assist people be taught to assist one another.
And I believe I’m seeing the beginnings of a win.
It began with one listener, making an attempt to do what he might for folks proper round him. He requested us for recommendation, we requested people who get our First Aid Kit publication to pitch in.
And now, with that assist, our unique listener has began making a software I believe can in the end assist a LOT of individuals assist one another.
It looks as if the beginning of a virtuous cycle. And you possibly can assist maintain it going, and rising.
OK, right here’s the story — thus far:
Thomas Sanford goes to medical faculty in Brooklyn. He says he’s listened to this present for years, however among the issues we speak about right here acquired extra vivid for him final fall, as he began his third yr.
Thomas Sanford: …the place I’m going out of the classroom and I begin spending my days within the hospital interacting with sufferers and and appreciating that for particularly people in my space — which is without doubt one of the poorest components of Brooklyn– that may be a monetary dying sentence. It will break you in debt that you just can’t get out of. And I listened to your episode about Dollar For, the nonprofit that helps folks apply for charity care.
Dan: We’ve talked about Dollar For quite a bit over the previous few years. Their founder, Jared Walker, has helped lots of people, together with me, perceive how highly effective hospital charity care will be.
A number of months in the past, Jared’s small group hit an enormous milestone:
Eliminating greater than 100 million {dollars} in hospital payments, over just some years.
Jared Walker: And we’ve got been in a position to do this with out charging a single greenback to sufferers.
Dan: That’s Jared, in a video he posted over the summer time to mark the event.
Jared Walker: We’re a nonprofit. We assist folks eradicate hospital payments, largely by implementing hospital monetary help insurance policies,. These applications cut back or eradicate hospital payments for folks inside sure revenue necessities. The downside is, is that they don’t inform you. So we do.
Dan: Now, working in a hospital himself, Thomas Sanford determined to assist unfold the phrase.
He wrote to the oldsters at Dollar For, they usually despatched him a PDF for a “touch card” — it’s like the dimensions of a enterprise card.
It says, “Struggling with hospital bills? Most hospitals offer bill forgiveness programs. On average, a family of four, earning less than 100 thousand dollars a year will qualify. Dollar For can help – for free.”
And then, there’s an internet handle in massive sort, and a QR code to scan — and on the again of the cardboard, the entire thing in Spanish.
Thomas Sanford: And I simply went and printed out a thousand of them, began handing ’em out to residents and giving them to sufferers.
Dan: Handing them out to different residents, so they may go playing cards to their very own sufferers.
Thomas says he additionally left bins of playing cards within the break room, so residents might seize as many as they wished. And then he went to different native hospitals to distribute the playing cards in bulk.
Thomas Sanford: Loads of little hospitals or neighborhood clinics which have like little like enterprise card holders, on the counter within the ready room, and I simply deliver a stack and simply dump them in.
Dan: And all of that is already extraordinarily cool. And then, Thomas did one thing else: He wrote to us — to inform us about what he was doing, and to ask for assist.
Because over the course of months,as he’d been passing out these playing cards, Thomas had discovered: Charity care didn’t essentially cowl all people’s wants — like paying for pharmaceuticals.
Thomas Sanford: And simply very frankly, I used to be busy doing the entire medication factor, making an attempt to deal with folks, and I want I had the time to sit down with them and, you recognize, seek for what would assist them particularly, and I simply didn’t. So I used to be on the lookout for, actually hoping for, very selfishly, a useful resource the place I might simply say, right here’s your one-stop store. It’ll virtually definitely cowl what you want. I hope this helps.
Dan: He wrote to us, to ask if we knew of something good. And actually we didn’t.
So we requested you for assist. In our First Aid Kit publication, we informed Thomas’s story, we added a hyperlink to that PDF from Dollar For — as a result of that appeared value passing round — and we did two extra issues:
First, we made our personal first draft — mainly, an annotated checklist of the sources we might placed on a one-page handout.
And second, we requested: Help! What are we lacking right here? Including: Has anyone really already made a model of this?
And: You wrote again!
As it turned out, a few you had labored on some nice on-line tasks. One was from the nonprofit PIRG — one other group I’ve realized a ton from over time. And the opposite was really created by the federal authorities.
And, they have been nice! We wrote about them in First Aid Kit, with hyperlinks. Other people had tipped us off to sources that hadn’t been on our unique lists — we added these..
And THOMAS took all of that and ran with it. Meaning: He began printing up a tough draft handy out.
Thomas Sanford: I maintain a bit stack of them in my backpack, because it’s develop into considerably full and vaguely presentable, and at occasions I’ve simply be like, maintain on, depart, come again and be like, right here you go.
Dan: And he says: It labored. He informed me about this particularly dramatic instance.
Thomas Sanford: I used to be within the emergency division and somebody are available having a coronary heart assault — very severe. This might kill you. And their solely concern after they acquired there may be, what is that this going to value me? And it’s a troublesome time to be having that dialog, however having the ability to say, look, right here’s a crummy first draft of one thing I’ve been engaged on. I hope this provides you a bit reduction, however please, proper now, let me deal with what’s a bit extra necessary, which is maintaining you alive
Dan: Recently Thomas wrote to us AGAIN, to say: Here’s the vaguely-presentable model I’ve been handing out. Can I get extra assist making it higher?
We went again to you — revealed Thomas’s draft in First Aid Kit, requested if anyone might pitch in, created a sign-up type.
And you’ve been pitching in! Thomas says he’s added extra sources, and he’s gotten assist making issues extra presentable.
Thomas Sanford: Just little sort issues about, you recognize, me not having to make use of a interval appropriately. Big issues like possibly you identify this doc a bit extra appropriately.
Call it assist along with your medical bills.
Dan: He’s simply shared the latest model with us, and he says he might nonetheless use extra assist.
Thomas Sanford: If you understand how to repeat edit, and you’ll take my horrible descriptions and make them nice. If you recognize graphic design and might make my, very primary, PDF into one thing that’s a bit extra presentable, that might be wonderful. Also, if you wish to make a model of this, you customise to your personal hospitals. as an alternative of a hyperlink for greenback 4, put in a hyperlink to your hospital’s charity care coverage.
Dan: This is definitely one of many coolest issues. Thomas is utilizing what’s referred to as a “Creative Commons” license. That mainly means anyone can take it, make copies of it, make variations on it.
Thomas Sanford: You could make your individual model of it. You don’t want my permission. You can do no matter you need with it. The solely factor it’s important to do is share it below the identical license and share it freely
Dan: And give credit score to the unique creator, so folks know the place it began. But Thomas needs folks to make it their very own.
Thomas Sanford: I believe that that’s actually the best: when folks begin taking it, simply make their very own model, put it on the market and it kind of simply evolves by itself, turns into the most effective factor it may be.
Dan: So, I hope you possibly can see why I’m so enthusiastic about this challenge. I believe it’s acquired unbelievable potential. I’m inviting you to pitch in, nevertheless you need, and nevertheless you possibly can.
?And at Thomas’s suggestion: We’re posting a PDF of the present model. Print it out, make copies, inform us the way you’re utilizing them.
We’re additionally posting a google doc that ANYONE can touch upon.
And we’re posting that sign-up type once more, so you possibly can volunteer to pitch in. Designers, editors, consultants — translators.
And particularly: if anybody has a expertise for organizing teams of volunteers on a challenge like this, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH. That can be actually wonderful.
You’ll discover these hyperlinks wherever you’re listening
And the place the place we’re actually gonna maintain digging in on this challenge is the place it began — in our First Aid Kit publication. I’d love so that you can join. The place for that’s www dot arm and a leg present dot com, slash, first support equipment.
That’s arm and a leg present dot com, slash, first support equipment.
This has been a bit mini-episode of An Arm and a Leg– a present about why well being care prices so freaking a lot and what we are able to possibly do about it: Together– proper?
We’ll be again with a full-length episode quickly. Till then, deal with your self.
This episode of An Arm and a Leg was produced by me, Dan Weissmann, with assist from Emily Pisacreta — and edited by Ellen Weiss. Adam Raymonda is our audio wizard.
Our music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations.
An Arm and a Leg is produced in partnership with KFF Health News. That’s a nationwide newsroom producing in-depth journalism about well being points in America and a core program at KFF, an impartial supply of well being coverage analysis, polling, and journalism.
Zach Dyer is senior audio producer at KFF Health News. He’s editorial liaison to this present.
And because of the Institute for Nonprofit News for serving as our fiscal sponsor.
They enable us to simply accept tax-exempt donations. You can be taught extra about INN at INN.org.
Finally, thanks to all people who helps this present financially.
You can take part any time at arm and a leg present, dot com, slash: assist.
“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of KFF Health News and Public Road Productions.
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