‘An Arm and a Leg’: TikTok Mom Takes On Medical Bills

By Dan Weissmann October 5, 2020

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen.

About This Podcast

Health care — and how much it costs — is scary. But you’re not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. “An Arm and a Leg” is a podcast about these issues, and its second season is co-produced by KHN.

Visit armandalegshow.com

Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, partly because of a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills. She said the way to deal with medical debt is to be vigilant about what debt you incur in the first place.

“What you can say is I don’t want you to run any tests or do any procedures or anything without running it by me,” she said.

Burns has three children of her own, and she has become the virtual mom that thousands of Gen Z followers love. She’s funny, smart and relatable — and she has stories that’ll make your hair stand on end. Oh, and she can swear like a sailor. So maybe listen to this episode when the kids aren’t around. Also, some of her stories are kind of intense.

(You can first check the transcript to see if this episode is one you want to share with your kids.)

“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.

To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” subscribe to the newsletter. You can also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers would love to hear from you.

To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Google Play or Spotify.

This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Copy And Paste To Republish This Story

‘An Arm and a Leg’: TikTok Mom Takes On Medical Bills

By Dan Weissmann October 5, 2020

Article HTML

<h1>‘An Arm and a Leg’: TikTok Mom Takes On Medical Bills</h1>	<span class="byline">
		By <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/author/dan-weissmann/"><strong>Dan Weissmann</strong></a>	</span>

// Autosize iframe
				var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( 'a' );
					origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
					if ( 'embeds.kff.org' !== origin.host )
						return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
					if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
						return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
						case 'poll_size:response':
							var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width )
								iframe.width = '100%';
							if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height )
								iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
						default:
							return;
					}
				}

if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) {
					window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false );
				} else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) {
					window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse );
				}
			}
			if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ }
			else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); }
			else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); }
		} )();
		</script>

<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/your-tik-tok-mom/">Click here to listen.</a></em></p>

<aside class="related related-slab pull-right">
											<div class="slab default-slab ">
													<h3>
					<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/">
		About This Podcast			</a>
			</h3>
<div class="slab-container">	<div class="slab-content">
		
	<iframe 
 title="Embedded Media"
		id="wpcom-iframe-a414a607f74306a4611ca9a2fe06a6dc"
		width="100%"
		height="188"
		src="https://embeds.kff.org/protected-iframe/a414a607f74306a4611ca9a2fe06a6dc"
		scrolling=""
		frameborder="0"
		class="wpcom-protected-iframe"
		>
	</iframe>
	<script type="text/javascript">
		( function() {
			var func = function() {
				var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-a414a607f74306a4611ca9a2fe06a6dc')
				if ( iframe ) {
					iframe.onload = function() {
						iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( {
							'msg_type': 'poll_size',
							'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-a414a607f74306a4611ca9a2fe06a6dc'
						}, "https:\/\/embeds.kff.org" );
					}
				}

// Autosize iframe
				var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( 'a' );
					origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
					if ( 'embeds.kff.org' !== origin.host )
						return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
					if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
						return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
						case 'poll_size:response':
							var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width )
								iframe.width = '100%';
							if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height )
								iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
						default:
							return;
					}
				}

<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/your-tik-tok-mom/">Click here to listen.</a></em></p>

<p>Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, partly because of a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills. She said the way to deal with medical debt is to be vigilant about what debt you incur in the first place.</p>
<p>“What you can say is I don’t want you to run any tests or do any procedures or anything without running it by me,” she said.</p>
<p>Burns has three children of her own, and she has become the virtual mom that thousands of Gen Z followers love. She’s funny, smart and relatable — and she has stories that’ll make your hair stand on end. Oh, and she can swear like a sailor. So maybe listen to this episode when the kids aren’t around. Also, some of her stories are kind of intense.</p>
<p>(You can first check <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/?attachment_id=1724">the transcript</a> to see if this episode is one you want to share with your kids.)</p>

<p>“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.</p>
<p>To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/newsletter/">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. You can also follow the show on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/armandalegshow/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/armandalegshow">Twitter</a>. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact-us/">would love to hear from you</a>.</p>
<p><em>To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts, <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/podcast/">click here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/an-arm-and-a-leg/id1438778444">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/web/discover/podcast/6e9e33e0-b911-0136-7b93-27f978dac4db">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hcm1hbmRhbGVnc2hvdy5jb20vZmVlZC9wb2RjYXN0Lw%3D%3D">Google Play</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3wBgLSbYPKT3gnd9KGjz5t?si=jEMzB2soS_ayOsYbK0cmnQ">Spotify</a>.</em></p>
	</div>
	<div class="link-button">
		<a href="https://armandalegshow.com/" class="btn btn-default btn-block">
			Visit armandalegshow.com		</a>
	</div>
	</div>						</div>
									</aside>
				
<p>Shaunna Burns went viral on TikTok, partly because of a series of videos dishing out real-talk advice on fighting outrageous medical bills. She said the way to deal with medical debt is to be vigilant about what debt you incur in the first place.</p>
<p>“What you can say is I don’t want you to run any tests or do any procedures or anything without running it by me,” she said.</p>
<p>Burns has three children of her own, and she has become the virtual mom that thousands of Gen Z followers love. She’s funny, smart and relatable — and she has stories that’ll make your hair stand on end. Oh, and she can swear like a sailor. So maybe listen to this episode when the kids aren’t around. Also, some of her stories are kind of intense.</p>
<p>(You can first check <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/?attachment_id=1724">the transcript</a> to see if this episode is one you want to share with your kids.)</p>

We encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:

You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our californiahealthline.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and “California Healthline” in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Have questions? Let us know.

From The California Health Care Foundation

CalAIM CalAIM in Focus

Explore CHCF’s collection of tools and resources aimed at helping organizations understand and implement CalAIM.

People Experiencing Homelessness Homelessness & Health Care Resource Center

Explore resources from CHCF that help health care, homeless services providers, government, and other systems work together so people are housed and healthy.

Health Policy Survey The 2024 CHCF California Health Policy Survey

Conducted in fall 2023, this survey collected Californian adults’ opinions and experiences on various health care topics, including mental health, medical debt, racial equity, and more.

Related Topics