An Arm and a Leg

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Why drugs cost so much, 101: Medicine monopolies

4/9/2026 • 34 min

We’re always asking: Why do drugs cost so freaking much? And it’s a complicated question. There are a bunch of reasons — to be sure. But in our reporting over the years, like our stories on insulin and tuberculosis drugs, experts cited one big reason over and over again: The pharmaceutical industry wages sophisticated legal battles to keep monopoly control o… Play episode

‘Not workable’: How two Americans picked a plan this year — or didn’t
The EpiPen and Food Allergies (from Drug Story)
NYT’s Ron Lieber: ‘These people are not going to win.'
'Sh**’s wild': Scaling up, doubling down, and buckling in
Our favorite project of 2025 levels up – and you can help
Some more things that didn’t suck in 2025
How to pick health insurance — in the worst year ever
Some things that didn’t suck in 2025 (really)
This health economist wants your medical bills
We love this listener’s project — and your response
Will we be able to afford insurance in 2026?
The Insurance Warrior battles a $61 billion company (from 2021)
A wild health insurance hustle
The great American drug shortage isn't an accident, it's artificial (from …
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part Two
Trailer: The Prescription Drug Playbook
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part One
Could this mathematician’s formula fix US hospitals?
A longtime expert puts 2025-so-far in perspective
Why ‘The Pitt’ is our fave new drama
Winning a two-year fight over a bogus bill
A medical-debt watchdog gets sidelined by the new administration
Big news: Our ‘First Aid Kit’ newsletter is now weekly
How do you deal with wild drug prices?
The ‘Shkreli Awards’ — for dysfunction and profiteering in health care
This is An Arm and a Leg
A listener fighting the good fight
Revisiting ‘Christmas In July’
New lessons from the fight for charity care
Fight health insurance — with help from AI
Can racism make you sick?
Special Feature: A Beloved Nursing Home, from “To See Each Other”
“Baby steps” in the fight against facility fees
Anatomy of a Fall: One rural hospital’s ransomware story (from Click Here)
Don’t get “bullied” into paying what you don’t owe
We want to see your hospital bills
The woman who beat an $8,000 hospital fee
Coming soon: your stories on facility fees
Meet the Middleman’s Middleman
Staying on Medicaid seems tougher than it should be
We’re digging into “facility fees.” We need your help.
The Hack
Son of Medicare: Attack of the Machines
The Medicare Episode
Wait, is insulin cheaper now?
Self defense 101: Keeping your cool while you fight
One last tip before 2024
When hospitals sue patients (part 2)
When hospitals sue patients (part 1)

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