‘An Arm and a Leg’: Need Surgery to Save Your Life? Tips for Getting Insurance to Pay

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Laurie Todd calls herself the “Insurance Warrior.” She helps people get their health insurance companies to pay for treatment and has written books sharing her knowledge.

Hers is a wealth of knowledge that was hard-won. In 2005, Todd was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Although she found a doctor who could treat it, her health insurance said it wouldn’t be covered. But Todd didn’t accept that refusal and got her insurance company to pay for a lifesaving surgery.

Over the next 15 years, Todd honed her insurance-slaying powers. She has fought — and won — more than 200 insurance appeals on behalf of patients, she said.

Listen to the episode to hear some of her time-tested strategies.

Here’s a transcript of the episode.

“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of KHN and Public Road Productions.

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KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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