As premium payments for Affordable Care Act insurance plans soar and cuts to Medicaid start to affect hospitals and patients, many people in 2026 will need help paying medical bills. And charity care may be a solution.
One group working on this is Dollar For, a nonprofit focused on helping people access the financial assistance that hospitals are legally required to offer patients who make less than a certain amount.
An Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann checks back in with Dollar For founder Jared Walker about how his small organization managed to help erase more than $55 million in medical bills last year while navigating difficult new funding challenges and ever-shifting political terrain.
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Transcript: ‘Sh**’s wild’: Scaling up, doubling down, and buckling in
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Dan: Hey there.
So, 2026! On New Year’s Day, pretty much every morning news show had a not-so-good news story ready to go.
News anchor: This morning, more than 20 million Americans…
News anchor: …will see healthcare premiums double, triple, or go even higher…
News anchor: …after Congress failed to extend certain subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
Dan: A lot of people will end up without insurance. Or with much crappier insurance, because they can’t afford anything better. Or paying a lot more for insurance than they can afford. Or some combo platter.
And because employer plans got more expensive too — and a bunch of employers weren’t ready to pay more — lots of folks ended up with insurance from work that leaves them on the hook for more.
All of it leaves a lot more people a lot more vulnerable this year to overwhelming bills: for insurance premiums, for me …