Jul 23, 2026 · 30 min · 10 segments
Last May, just a few months into the second Trump Administration, changes to federal health programs were happening at a bewildering pace. We brought in *KFF Heath News* Chief Washington Correspondent…
Julie RovnerGuest
Dan WeissmannHost
[laughs] We'll see how much of a pleasure it is to talk about the American healthcare system.
[upbeat music] This is An Arm and a Leg, a show about why healthcare costs so freaking much, and what we can maybe do about it.
So the job we've chosen here is to take one of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life, and bring you something entertaining, empowering, and useful.
[upbeat music] Julie, last time we talked, you were astonished and worried about the pace of change and, like, destruction, given all the cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services.
How I've been thinking about this is that our healthcare system is a giant Jenga tower.
And it's a little wobbly, and what holds it up is everything that happens from the Department of Health and Human Services, and they're yanking out sticks from this Jenga tower as fast as they possibly can.
So you said that a year and change ago, and just, like, the news I'm seeing this week, we're taping more than a week before we're gonna publish this, but there's been a huge public health story in the news.
You know, this outbreak of a foodborne parasite called cyclospora that causes explosive diarrhea.
A warning to more sensitive viewers, this next story is kinda gross.
If you are about to tuck into a bowl of raspberries or a big plate of salad, we're very sorry, because we may be about to put you off your food.
If you're somebody that's into going to salad bars on a weekly basis, just give that a rest for a week or two.
Again, we're taping this in mid-July, so maybe all this gets cleared up by the time we publish, but right now, like, I'm personally having early COVID flashbacks trying to figure out what fruits and vegetables are safe to eat and how long I have to cook them.
And you know, sure enough, folks are pointing out that among last year's many cuts at HHS was federal tracking of a half dozen foodborne pathogens, including this one, cyclospora.
[laughs] We'll see how much of a pleasure it is to talk about the American healthcare system.
[upbeat music] This is An Arm and a Leg, a show about why healthcare costs so freaking much, and what we can maybe do about it.
So the job we've chosen here is to take one of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life, and bring you something entertaining, empowering, and useful.
[upbeat music] Julie, last time we talked, you were astonished and worried about the pace of change and, like, destruction, given all the cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services.
How I've been thinking about this is that our healthcare system is a giant Jenga tower.
And it's a little wobbly, and what holds it up is everything that happens from the Department of Health and Human Services, and they're yanking out sticks from this Jenga tower as fast as they possibly can.
So you said that a year and change ago, and just, like, the news I'm seeing this week, we're taping more than a week before we're gonna publish this, but there's been a huge public health story in the news.
You know, this outbreak of a foodborne parasite called cyclospora that causes explosive diarrhea.
A warning to more sensitive viewers, this next story is kinda gross.
If you are about to tuck into a bowl of raspberries or a big plate of salad, we're very sorry, because we may be about to put you off your food.
If you're somebody that's into going to salad bars on a weekly basis, just give that a rest for a week or two.
Again, we're taping this in mid-July, so maybe all this gets cleared up by the time we publish, but right now, like, I'm personally having early COVID flashbacks trying to figure out what fruits and vegetables are safe to eat and how long I have to cook them.
And you know, sure enough, folks are pointing out that among last year's many cuts at HHS was federal tracking of a half dozen foodborne pathogens, including this one, cyclospora.
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