Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: Being Nickeled & Dimed...

Date: November 10, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts

Overview

This episode dives into the frustrating experience of being “nickeled and dimed,” particularly within the American healthcare system. Drawing from personal anecdotes and a recent essay by Matthew Hennessy, Armstrong and Getty lament the opaque, arbitrary, and excessive charges patients face, highlighting how jargon-filled explanations and lack of transparency turn everyday people against the system. The conversation blends personal stories, humor, and pointed commentary on the dysfunctions of American healthcare and consumer experiences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The “67 Incident” – Humor in Everyday Annoyances

• [01:41 – 02:56]
  • Armstrong and Getty joke about “incidents” that annoyed Armstrong over the weekend, joking about the prevalence of the number 67 in his life and relating it to being “nickeled and dimed.”
  • Light-hearted riff: confusion over numbers at a restaurant, playfully exaggerated with “how much did you have to pay for that?” to poke fun at extra, unexplained charges in daily life.
  • Memorable quote:
    • Armstrong: “Remember when 67 used to be 67 and it was just a number? I do remember. Those were good times. Yeah.” [02:43]

The World Will Always Irritate You – Source of Commentary

• [03:59 – 04:46]
  • Getty shares a story from Matthew Hennessy, referencing an old tale where William F. Buckley Jr. tells George Will, “The world irritates me three times a week, which is plenty.”
    • Insight: Annoyances are an endless source of commentary.
  • Shifts to discussion about understanding the cost of everyday things: “If I asked you to tell me how much an MRI costs ... even if you’d had one three days ago, you wouldn’t have any idea?”

The Absurdity and Opacity of Healthcare Billing

• [04:46 – 12:47]
  • Getty reads from Matthew Hennessy’s essay about the high and mysterious charges related to his mother-in-law’s routine medical visit:
    • $150 “facility fee” and $40 “evaluation and management add on” for a simple checkup.
    • The response from the clinic is filled with jargon (“blithering piffle”) that neither host nor listeners can decipher.
    • Notable quote:
      • Armstrong: “Why’d you charge me that? Because I can. Because I wanted to. That’s what that means.” [07:33]
    • Getty mocks the convoluted official explanation, poking fun at its complexity and lack of clarity.
    • The hosts connect this experience to the universally frustrating, almost comical lack of transparency in medical billing.

Personal Anecdotes: The Shocking Cost of Healthcare Basics

• Armstrong describes a friend’s experience (having no insurance during childbirth) and discovering the absurd price tags for hospital items:
  • $20 per apple juice, $80 for a newborn’s cap.
  • Memorable quote:
    • Armstrong: “That little cap they put on the baby’s head was $80.” [10:49]
    • “If you knew it was $80 and you were paying for it, you’d bring your own... you’d have all those there with you if you were actually paying for it.” [10:54]

Why Can’t We Shop for Healthcare?

• The hosts lament, “If your dry cleaner treated you this way… you’d take your business elsewhere. Instantly!” [11:33]
• Contrast with health care, where customers have no power: “Nothing but buck passing middlemen in league with penny pinching hospital executives…” [11:33]
• The system is rigged for confusion, making the customer powerless and angry.

Government Solutions: Worse or Better?

• Armstrong: “If you think the government taking it over would make it better, you’re nuts.” [12:05]
• Getty jokes that government control would turn an $80 little hat into an $800 one, just paid invisibly through taxes.
• Insight: Both agree that further government intervention is unlikely to solve the underlying problems and may even exacerbate them.

The Emotional Toll and Upselling in Medicine

• Getty: “Getting treated like an idiot is something else. Getting exposed to jargon and deflection turns ordinary people into radicals.” [12:19]
• Armstrong, a diabetic, discusses constant upselling of drugs: “Oh yeah, and I can exercise it off… or you could take this pill… constantly doing that to me.” [13:13]
• Getty sums up: “Yeah, you’re a hot prospect.” [13:23]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Remember when 67 used to be 67 and it was just a number? I do remember. Those were good times. Yeah.”
  — Armstrong & Getty [02:43]
• “If I asked you to tell me how much an MRI costs… even if you’d had one three days ago, you wouldn’t have any idea?”
  — Getty [04:46]
• “Why’d you charge me that? Because I can. Because I wanted to. That’s what that means.”
  — Armstrong [07:33]
• “Oh, sounds like Kamala Harris wrote that. Yeah… if she knew more big words.”
  — Armstrong & Getty satirizing medical jargon [08:01]
• “That little cap they put on the baby’s head was $80… If you knew it was $80 and you were paying for it, you’d bring your own…”
  — Armstrong [10:49–10:54]
• “If you think the government taking it over would make it better, you’re nuts.”
  — Armstrong [12:05]
• “Getting treated like an idiot is something else. Getting exposed to jargon and deflection turns ordinary people into radicals.”
  — Getty [12:19]

Structure & Tone

The tone is humorous, exasperated, and conversational, mixing personal stories, readings from an op-ed, and wry observational humor. The absurdity and frustration of the modern consumer (especially patient) experience is at center stage.

Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:41 | Armstrong's "67 incidents" anecdote | | 03:59 | Story of Buckley & Will—irritation as fuel for commentary | | 04:46 | Introduction of Hennessy essay – medical billing frustrations | | 07:33 | Armstrong decodes “evaluation & management add on” charge | | 10:49 | Hospital item pricing horror stories | | 11:33 | Comparison to other businesses & lack of healthcare options | | 12:05 | Debate on government involvement in healthcare | | 12:19 | Final reflections & the emotional toll | | 13:13 | Armstrong’s experience with medical upselling |

Conclusion

If you’ve ever felt frustrated, bewildered, or outright angered by mysterious surcharges—especially in healthcare—this episode will have you nodding along, laughing, and possibly clenching your fists. The hosts’ blend of real-life anecdotes, incisive reading, and lively banter makes for a sharp critique of a system that seems designed to keep the customer confused, annoyed, and perpetually “nickeled and dimed.”