Hey there, we are bringing back an episode from our first season about why it is so hard to

pick health insurance for two reasons. One, under the American Rescue Plan, that is the big

economic stimulus plan Congress passed in March 2021. Lots of people right now have the option

to sign up for cheaper insurance. And two, I'm on another podcast this week talking about how hard

it is to learn about those deals and to sign up for them and to figure out whether or not you even

want to. That podcast is the indicator from Planet Money, which is super fun and all of the

10 minutes long. And if you're joining us for the first time because you heard me there,

welcome aboard. Two things to know. One, during our first season when this episode first aired,

my family was actually shopping for health insurance, so you'll hear a reference to that.

And two, this was 2018, pre-pandemic, which means, among other things, that Hamilton was still

running on Broadway and tickets were still hard to get. The rest for better or worse is pretty much

up to date. Hey there, if you heard our first episode, you know, I'm trying to figure out what

health insurance my family can get for next year. And we're lucky. One way or another, we're going

to be able to get some kind of health insurance plan. But according to this study I just read,

we're probably going to pick the wrong one. Picking the right one is so hard that the economist

who did the study, I read, he says, he's in the same boat. His son is turning 26 this year

and can't stay on the family plan. Dad, the economist will pick the new one. And despite doing

research on this, I'm truly dreading having to make this decision. I have no confidence that

I'm going to end up making the right decision. That gloomy outlook comes from George Lowenstein.

He's a professor at Carnegie Mellon. And here is the story of how he and a couple of colleagues

figured out exactly how screwed we are. Oh, wait, first. I did find a glimmer of hope at the end,

so stay with me. This is an arm in a leg, a show about the cost of health care. I'm Dan Weissman.

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