Episodes
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People with rare metabolic disorders need medical foods to keep from going hungry, but costs and regulations mean some go without or have to find a workaround. Music used in this episode: Fingernail Grit , Time Waste , The Dirty , Chrome Muffler , Pulsars and Back Stairs by Podington Bear. Read the story: Medical foods are vital for a rare disease. Why doesn’t insurance cover them?
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Nearly 100,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant in the U.S. Many will never get one but some doctors have found an innovative solution. Music used in this episode: Massive , Chrome Muffler , Back Stairs , Refraction , The Dirty , Golden Hour , Pure Swell and Encounter by Podington Bear. Read the story: How A Deadly Virus Saved Organ Transplant Patients' Lives
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Missing episodes?
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Our prison population has been rapidly aging for years, and the additional care these elderly inmates require is expensive. But some prisons have created a surprising way to work around these costs. Music used in this episode: Massive , Chrome Muffler , Back Stairs , Gears Spinning , and Encounter by Podington Bear.
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Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved medication used to treat opioid addiction, but it can be hard to get. That leaves some people suffering from addiction with a choice: keep using, or get buprenorphine on the black market. Music used in this episode: Massive , Am-Trans , Tarnish , The Dirty , Chrome Muffler , and Refraction by Podington Bear. Read the story: There's An Illegal Market For An Opioid Addiction Medication. Is That Such A Bad Thing?
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Children with severe mental illnesses encounter many barriers to treatment. But some parents have discovered a workaround of last resort: they can trade custody for treatment. Music used in this episode: Am-Trans , Submerging Blue-Black , The Dirty , Chrome Muffler , and Back Stairs by Podington Bear; plus Cicle DR Valga by Blue Dot Sessions. Read the stories: Out Of Options, Parents Of Children With Mental Illness Trade Custody For Treatment, When Insurers Deny Mental Health Coverage, Families In Crisis Struggle Even More
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For many people, life goes on after a diabetes diagnosis. But for others, the high price of insulin has forced them to devise dangerous and sometimes deadly workarounds to make ends meet. On this episode: the lengths to which some diabetics go to survive, and why insulin is so expensive. Music used in this episode: Massive , Tarnish , The Dirty , Chrome Muffler , and Pulsars by Podington Bear; plus Tralaga by Blue Dot Sessions Read the story: With Insulin Prices Soaring, Some Diabetics Turn to Dangerous Work Around
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These are stories of the difficult and sometimes shocking things people do to work around the American healthcare system.
