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Health care and how much it costs is scary. But youre not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. An Arm and a Leg is a podcast about these issues, and is co-produced by KFF Health News.VISIT ARMANDALEGSHOW.COM
Federal law requires that all nonprofit hospitals have financial assistance policies also known as charity care to reduce or expunge peoples medical bills. New research from Dollar For, an organization dedicated to helping people get access to charity care, suggests that fewer than one-third of people who qualify for charity care actually receive it.
An Arm and a Leg host Dan Weissmann talks with Dollar For founder Jared Walker about its recent work, and how new state programs targeting medical debt in places like North Carolina may change the way hospitals approach charity care.
Plus, a listener from New York shares a helpful resource for navigating charity care appeals. Dan Weissmann @danweissmann Host and producer of "An Arm and a Leg." Previously, Dan was a staff reporter for Marketplace and Chicago's WBEZ. His work also appears on All Things Considered, Marketplace, the BBC, 99 Percent Invisible, and Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Credits Emily Pisacreta Producer Claire Davenport Producer Adam Raymonda Audio wizard Ellen Weiss Editor Click to open the Transcript Transcript: New Lessons in the Fight for Charity Care Note: An Arm and a Leg uses speech-recognition software to generate transcripts, which may contain errors. Please use the transcript as a tool but check the corresponding audio before quoting the podcast.
Dan: Hey there–
Clara lives in New York City with her husband Remy and their family. And, recently, over the course of a year, they had some … medical encounters. At hospitals.
Nothing super-dramatic: Remy broke his ankle in August of last year. Hello, emergency room. Hello, ER bill.
They had a second baby in November 2023 a boy! who ended up needing to spend a day in neonatal intensive care. He’s fine. They named him Isaac.
And one night early this year, Isaac just… wasn’t looking good. Lethargic. Had a fever.
Clara: We decided to give him Tylenol. Um, and he spit it all back out.
Dan: They took his temp again. A hundred and three point five.
Clara: We started Googling, um, what is like dangerously high fever for a baby
Dan: And yep. For a baby that little, a hundred three point five is starting to get iffy. Like possible risk of seizure. But it was late at night. No pediatrician, no urgent care. Hello new, unwelcome questions.
Clara: The last thing you want to be thinking about is, Oh shit, this is going to be really expensive. You want to be thinking about, let’s go to the ER right now, make sure he doesn’t have a seizure.
Dan: So they went. And the folks at the ER gave Isaac more tylenol, he didn’t spit it out, his fever went down. They went home, relieved about Isaac and a little anxious about the bills.
After insurance, they were looking at more than eight thousand dollars. Clara didn’t think her family could afford anything like that.
And the billing office didn’t offer super-encouraging advice.
Clara: basically every time I’ve called, they said, why don’t you start making small payments now so it doesn’t go into collections.
Dan: However. Clara listens to An Arm and a Leg. Where we’ve been talking about something called charity care for years. This summer, we asked listeners to send us their bills and tell us about their experience with charity care. Clara was one of the folks who responded.
Just to recap: Federal law requires all nonprofit hospitals to have charity care policies, also called financial assistance.
To reduce people’s bills, or even forgive them entirely, if their income falls below a level the hospital sets.
We’ve been super-interested in charity care here for almost four years, ever since a guy named Jared Walker blew up on TikTok spreading the word and offering to help people apply, through the nonprofit he runs, Dollar For.
Since then, we’ve learned a LOT about charity care. Dollar For has grown from an infinitesimally tiny organization — basically Jared, not getting paid much -to a small one, with 15 people on staff.
Jared says they’ve helped people with thousands of applications and helped to clear millions of dollars in hospital bills.
And in the past year, they’ve been up to a LOT and theyve been learning alot. Before we pick up Clara’s story which ends with her offering a new resource we can share let’s get a big download from Jared.
This is An Arm and a Leg, a show about why health care costs so freaking much, and what we can maybe do about it. I’m Dan Weissmann. I’m a reporter, and I like a challenge. So the job we’ve chosen on this show is to take one of the most enraging, terrifying, depressing parts of American life- and bring you a show that’s entertaining, empowering and useful.
In early 2024, Dollar For put out a couple of big research reports documenting how much charity care doesn’t get awarded. And why people don’t receive it.
Jared: I feel like for a long time we have been looking around at the experts, right? Who are the experts? And where can we find them and what can we ask them?
Dan: Finally, they undertook a major research project of their own. They analyzed thousands of IRS filings from nonprofit hospitals, and compared what they found to a study from the state of Maryland based on even more precise data.
And they hired a firm to survey a sample of more than 11 hundred people. Then ran focus groups to dig in for more detail.
Jared: I think that what these reports have just revealed is like, we are the experts like dollar for actually knows more than everyone else about this.
Dan: The amount of charity care that hospitals do not give to people who qualify for it?
The data analysis produced a number: 14 billion dollars. Which Jared and his colleagues say is a conservative estimate.
The survey showed that more than half of people who qualify for charity care do not get it. About two thirds of those folks do not know that it exists. Some people who know about it just don’t apply. And some who do get rejected, even though they qualify.
Their conclusion: We found that only 29% of patients with hospital bills they cannot afford are able to learn about, apply for, and receive charity care. None of which surprised Jared.
Jared: It’s like, Oh, like our assumptions have been correct on this. Like people don’t know about charity care. The process sucks. Um, a lot of people that should get it, don’t get it. Um, and hospitals have put all the pain and all of the responsibility on the patient
Dan: Those topline findings put Dollar For’s accomplishments in context.
Jared: Like we have submitted over 20, 000 of these financial assistance applications.
Dan: 20, 000 people. That’s spectacular. That’s I know you’re counting the money. How much money is it that you’re talking about so far?
Jared: I think we’re closing in on 70 million, 70 million in medical debt relief. So
Dan: Right. It’s a start.
Jared: there you go.
Dan: Its a start.
Jared: It sounds great, and then you see the 14 billion number and you’re like, oh, shoot. What are we doing? What are we doing?
Dan: laugh crying emoji.
Jared: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dan: And so, for most of the year, Jared and his team have been testing a strategy to take on a 14 billion dollar problem.
Jared: We have spent the year trying to work with hospitals. We came at this how do we put a dent in the 14 billion? If it’s not going to be through TikTok, and it’s not going to be through individual patint advocacy, then what if we moved further upstream, and instead of patients finding out about us one to three months after they get a bill, what if they heard about us at the hospital?
Dan: Jared envisioned patients getting evaluated for charity care, and getting referred to Dollar For for help applying, before they check out. He thought
Jared: Maybe we could make a bigger dent into that 14 billion. And, I think that that was wishful thinking.
Dan: Wishful thinking. That’s how Jared now describes his hopes that hospitals would see that they could do better by patients, with his help, and sign right up to work with him.
Jared: Um, well they haven’t, Dan. So, we don’t have, uh, you know, we’ve got one hospital.
We’ve got one hospital. I don’t know if there’s a smaller hospital in the United States. It is Catalina Island Health. It is a small hospital on an island off the coast of California
And when patients go in there, they tell them about Dollar For, and they send them over. Um, that was what we were hoping to do with these larger systems.
Dan: Jared talked to a lot of hospitals. He went to conferences for hospital revenue-department administrators. He didn’t get a lot of traction
Jared: You know, this is one thing where I’m like, I don’t want to be totally unfair to the hospitals.
They’re huge entities that you can’t just move quickly like that.
it is going to take a lot more on their end than it would on our end, we could spin up one of these partnerships in a week.
And. They’re going to need a lot of time and it’s going to, you know, how do we implement this? Um, you know, with a small Catalina Island hospital it was easy, but if you’re talking to Ascension
Dan: Ascension Healthcare– a big Catholic hospital system. A hundred thirty-six hospitals. More than a hundred thirty thousand employees. Across 18 states, plus DC. Jared says they might get thousands of charity care applications a month. A deal to steer folks to Jared isnt a simple handshake arrangement.
Jared: How do you, how do you do that? You know, how do you implement that? I mean, it’s a pain in the ass. And these hospitals, and more so, hospitals are not motivated to figure this out.
Dan: Yeah. Right.
Jared: Unless you’re in North Carolina,
Dan: North Carolina. In 2023, North Carolina expanded Medicaid. In July 2024, Governor Roy Cooper announced a program that would use Medicaid money to reward hospitals for forgiving Medical debt.
Gov. Roy Cooper: under this program. Hospitals can earn more by forgiving medical debt than trying to collect it. This is a win win win.
Dan: Under the program, hospitals can get more Medicaid dollars if they meet certain conditions. One, forgive a bunch of existing medical debts. Another: Make sure their charity care policies protect patients who meet income threhholds set by the state.
A third: they have to pro-actively identify patients who are eligible for charity care — and notify those patients before sending a bill, maybe even before they leave the hospital.
Jared: I’m very excited to see how that looks in the future. Because if you remember, the big four, like our shit list, is Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina.
Dan: Jared’s shit list. The states where, over the years, he has heard from the greatest number of people who have difficulty getting hospital charity care. Where he often has to fight hardest to help them get it.
Jareds shit list, the big four, were the four biggest states (by population) that had rejected the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Because of how the ACA was written, no Medicaid expansion means a lot more people who don’t have a lot of money and just don’t have ANY insurance at all.
It’s a giant problem. And North Carolina was one of those states where it was toughest.
Jared: And in, you know, the span of a year, North Carolina has expanded Medicaid, and created one of the best medical debt charity care policies in the country.
This law essentially says that they have to identify them early. So that’s like on paper, you know, it sounds amazing.
Dan: Onpaper it sounds amazing. We’ll come back to that. But first, let’s make clear: This wasn’t a sudden transformation. The governor, Roy Cooper, who we heard in that clip? He spent like seven years pushing the state to expand Medicaid.
The legislature finally agreed in 2023. And then Cooper and his team spent months this year figuring out how to bake medical-debt relief into the plan. It took a ton of maneuvering.
Our pals at KFF Health News covered the process. Here’s Ames Alexander, who reported that story with Noam Levy, describing the process on a public radio show called “Due South.”
Coopers team started out by trying to quietly bounce their ideas off a few hospitals..
Ames Alexander KFF Health News: But then word got back to the hospital industry’s powerful lobbying group. That’s the North Carolina Healthcare Association. And the Association was not at all happy about it. .
Dan: They raised a stink. And claimed the whole thing would be illegal, the feds shouldn’t approve it.
Cooper and his health secretary Cody Kinsley got kept going– and they did get the feds to sign off on the plan. So it was legal.
But it wasn’t mandatory. They were offering hospitals money, but those hospitals needed to say yes. And that didn’t happen right away.
Ames Alexander KFF Health News: When Cooper and Kinsley unveiled this plan on July 1st, there wasn’t a single hospital official who would join them there for the press conference. Ultimately, though, all 99 of the state’s hospitals signed on. And it’s not, it’s not really hard to understand why they stood to lose a lot of federal money.
Dan: Lose OUT on a ton of NEW federal money. A ton. According to KFF’s reporting, a single hospital system stands to gain like 800 million dollars a year for participating.
And you know, thinking about that — how much money hospitals were considering turning down — kind of puts into perspective Jared’s experience trying to get them to work with him. He wasn’t offering anybody 800 million dollars a year.I said to Jared: Seems like this would be hard to replicate elsewhere. Other states aren’t going to be able to put that kind of new federal money on the table. And Jared said:
Jared: I think before like, Oh, can we replicate it? I’m just like, how do we make it? How do we make it work in North Carolina?
Dan: That is: How to make sure when it gets implemented, that it really works? Remember, Jared said before: This all sounds amazing ON PAPER. We’ll have some of his caveats after the break. Plus the rest of Clara’s story.
An Arm and a Leg is a co-production of Public Road Productions and KFF Health News — that’s a nonprofit newsroom covering health issues in America. KFF’s reporters do amazing work — you just heard one of them breaking down how North Carolina put that deal together. I’m honored to work with them.
Jared loves the idea behind North Carolina’s initiative on charity care: Hospitals have to screen people while they’re on site, and let them know before they leave the hospital what kind of help they may be eligible for.
Jared: Making sure that a patient knows what is available to them before they leave is very powerful. , like, that’s where the responsibility should be. Um, but how do you do it? And what happens if you don’t? Right?
Dan: In other words, Jared says, the devil is in implementation, and in systems of accountability. He’s seen what happens when those systems are pourous.
Jared: In Oregon, they had that law that was like, Oh, you can’t sue patients without first checking to see if they’re eligible for charity care. . And then you find all these people that are being sued that were never screened.
Dan: Yeah, Oregonpassed a law in 2019 that required hospitals to evaluate patients for charity care before they could be sued over a bill. Jared’s colleague Eli Rushbanks analyzed a sample of hospital-bill lawsuits in one county. He could only see patients income in a few of them– but in almost half of those, that income was definitely low enough that the debt shouldve been forgiven.
He also took a big-picture look: In the years after the law took effect, two thirds of hospitals gave out LESS charity care than they had given before. Probably not what lawmakers had hoped for.
Hospitals in North Carolina will have two years to fully implement the screening requirement, called “presumptive eligibility.”
Some hospitals around the country already use automated systems for this: They check your credit, pull other data. Some of them use AI.
Jared says he’s seen some hospitals over-rely on the tech.
Jared: Some hospitals that are using presumptive eligibility tools will use that as a way to say, Oh, we already screened you. You can’t apply, but the patient is sitting there going, well, I’m eligible.
Your tool must have got it wrong. Cause these things are not a hundred percent accurate, or think of something like this, you lose your job, or maybe you’re at the hospital because you just gave birth to another human. So now you’re a household of four. It’s a four instead of three.
And obviously the presumptive eligibility tool isn’t going to be able to know that and calculate that. So if you go to the hospital and say, now I want to apply and they say, well, you don’t get to apply because we already screened you and you’re not eligible. That’s bullshit.
Dan: So, as North Carolina hospitals bring their systems online, Jared wants to push for a process where patients can appeal a machine-made decision. Jared: I’d love to be able to test that
how does that impact how many people are getting charity care and that 14 billion?
Dan: What do you think is your best shot for the next year of kind of moving towards 14 billion?
Jared: We are trying to figure that out. Um, obviously the election will play into that, but I think that if I had to guess where we would land, um, I think that we will double down on our patient advocacy work.
Dan: Jared says theyll definitely also continue to work with advocates and officials on policy proposals. But
Jared: The only reason anyone cares about what we have to say about policy is because we know what the patient experiences. So I think that if the, the more people we help, the more opportunity we will have to push policies forward that we want to see happen
Dan: So, this is a good place to note: If you or anybody you know has a hospital bill thats scaring you, Dollar For is a great first stop. Well have a link to their site wherever youre listening to this. Theyve got a tool that can help you quickly figure out if you might qualify for charity care from your hospital. Plus tons of how-tos. And theyve got dedicated staff to help you if you get stuck.
And we just heard Jared say theyre not backing away from that work, even as they aim to influence policy.
About policy Jared does have one other thought about their work in that area
Jared: We think that we’re going to get a little bit more feisty, uh, moving forward. So I’m, I’m excited about that.
Dan: I talked with Jared less than a week after the election. We didn’t know yet which party would take the House of Representatives, and of course there’s still a LOT we don’t know about what things look like from here. Jared had just one prediction.
Jared: I think we’re going to be needed, you know, that much more.
Dan: I think we’re all gonna need each other more than ever. Which is why I’m pleased to bring us back to Clara’s story from New York.
You might remember: Her family had three hospital adventures in the space of a year.
The first one, where her husband broke his ankle, got her started. The bill was eighteen hundred dollars, after insurance. A LOT for their family. But she had a few things going for her.
One, she knew charity care existed. Not because the hospital mentioned it.
Clara: No, I know about it from an arm and a leg,
Dan: And two, she had the skills. Because by training, she’s a librarian. And you may already know this but people come to libraries looking for a lot more than just books.
Clara: People all the time, will come in and bring in a form or need help navigating different systems and, and even just looking and trying to see where to start.
Dan: So, she went and found her hospital’s financial assistance policy online. Saw that her family met their income requirements. Found the form. Submitted it. Got offered a discount… that still left her family on the hook for more than they could comfortably pay.
And decided to see if she could ask for more. Was there an appeals process? There was.
But she didn’t find all of the information she needed online. The process wasn’t quick.
Clara: A lot of phone tag. And I don’t know if the bill pay phone lines are staffed better than the financial aid phone lines. But, you know, you get an answering machine a lot. You have to call back. The person doesn’t remember you. They’re not able to link your account.
All the things that I just feel like they’re really greasing the wheels of the paying for the bill option, but actually not making it especially accessible to do the financial aid and appeal process.
Dan: Clara hung in there. Heres what she told my colleague Claire Davenport.
Clara: Being a listener of the podcast, I feel like I’m part of a community of people who are sort of maneuvering through the crazy healthcare system. And I do kind of have Dan’s voice in my head, like, this is nuts. This is not your fault. This is crazy and not right.
Dan: Also, when she was angling for more help on her husband’s ER bill, she knew anything she learned could come in handy: She was due to give birth at the same hospital pretty soon.
Her persistence paid off. In the end, the hospital reduced that 1800 dollar bill to just 500 dollars.
Two weeks later, Isaac was born. And spent an extra day in the NICU. That, plus the late-night fever that sent them to the ER left Clara’s family on the hook for about 6500 dollars.
Clara used what she’d learned the first time through as a playbook. Apply, then appeal to ask for more help. She says that made it a little simpler. But not simple, and not quick.
Isaac was born in November 2023. His ER visit was in April 2024. When Clara talked with our producer in early August 2024, she was still waiting to hear the hospital’s decision about her appeal. Was it gonna be approved?
Clara: In the event that it’s not, I think we just put it on like the longest payment plan we can. Maybe we would ask family for help.
Dan: Update: A few days after that conversation, the hospital said yes to Clara’s appeal. Her new total, 650 dollars. About a tenth of that initial amount.
Which, yes, is a nice story for Clara and her family. But the reason I’m so pleased to share her story is this:
Clara: Actually, I made a template that you can let your listeners use for making an appeal letter. I’ll share it with you.
Dan: Clara thought it might be useful because part of the application and appeal process — not all of it was just facts and figures and pay stubs. There was also an opportunity to write a letter. Which opened up questions.
Clara: I feel like It’s not totally clear what you’re supposed to put in the letter and who you’re appealing to and how emotional you’re supposed to make it versus how technical
Dan: Here’s how she approached it.
Clara: I was trying to think about if I was reading the letter, what would help paint the picture of this bill in context of everything else. trying to put myself in their shoes, reading it, what would be useful t kind of add more depth to our story than just the bill. And then also I just tried to be really grateful and express authentic gratitude for the great care we received.
Dan: She also included a realistic estimate of what her family could actually pay. Which the hospital ended up agreeing with.
And yes, Clara shared that template with us. We’ll post a link to it wherever you’re listening to this. Please copy and paste, and fill in the blanks, and please-tell us if it works for you.
A big lesson here is, don’t take no for a final answer. Don’t take “We’ll help you this much” for a final answer. Clara discovered one other thing: Don’t give up if it looks like you may have missed a deadline. She missed one.
Clara: So I called them and said, I’m really worried. ” I didn’t send it in time. It might be off by a couple days. Is this going to be a huge problem? And they said, No, don’t worry about it.
It’s totally fine. Just send it. So I’m thinking, Okay, wait. There are so many people who are going to get cut off or get their bill and realize, Oh, well, I totally missed the window. So let’s go for the payment plan option. When actually,
Dan: If you’ve got the chutzpah, and the time, and the patience to make the next call and ask… you may get a different answer.
It sucks that it’s this hard. But I appreciate every clue that it’s not impossible. And I appreciate Clara sharing her story — and her template with us.
I told Jared about it.
Jared: Yeah, that’s amazing. I mean, I love, uh, it’s so funny. it’s just the idea of you have this patient that is going through all of this stuff and is so busy trying to focus on their own health, do their own thing, and they’re out here making templates so that other people can , you know, jump through the same hoops because we know We’re all going to have to jump through the hoops, uh, is just, man, how frustrating is that?
But how amazing is it that you have, you have built a community of people that are, you know, willing to, uh, take those kind of crappy, not kind of, very terrible experiences and, um, and turn it into something that is helpful for other people. I think that’s amazing.
Dan: Me too! So this is where I ask you to help keep a good thing going. We’ve got so much to do in 2025, and your donations have always been our biggest source of support. After the credits of this episode, youll hear the names of some folks who have pitched in just in the last few weeks.
And this is The Time to help us build. The place to go is arm and a leg show dot com, slash, support.
That’s arm and a leg show dot com, slash, support .
We’ll have a link wherever you’re listening.
Thank you so much for pitching in if you can.
We’ll be back with a brand new episode in a few weeks.
Till then, take care of yourself.
This episode of An Arm and a Leg was produced by Claire Davenport and me, Dan Weissmann, with help from Emily Pisacreta — and edited by Ellen Weiss.
Adam Raymonda is our audio wizard. Our music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Gabrielle Healy is our managing editor for audience. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations.
Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.
An Arm and a Leg is produced in partnership with KFF Health News. That’s a national newsroom producing in-depth journalism about health issues in America and a core program at KFF, an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Zach Dyer is senior audio producer at KFF Health News. He’s editorial liaison to this show.
And thanks to the Institute for Nonprofit News for serving as our fiscal sponsor. They allow us to accept tax-exempt donations. You can learn more about INN at INN.org.
Finally, thank you to everybody who supports this show financially.
An Arm and a Leg is a co-production of KFF Health News and Public Road Productions.
To keep in touch with An Arm and a Leg, subscribe to its newsletters. You can also follow the show on Facebook and the social platform X. And if youve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers would love to hear from you.
To hear all KFF Health News podcasts, click here.
And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print Related Topics Health Care Costs Multimedia An Arm and a Leg Podcasts Contact Us Submit a Story Tip

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‘Everything’s on the table’ for Connor McDavid’s NHL future
Published
2 hours agoon
June 25, 2025By
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Greg WyshynskiJun 25, 2025, 07:30 AM ET
Close- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid sat in a news conference days after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers for the second straight season. He was peppered with questions about his future, with unrestricted free agency looming in summer 2026 if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Oilers.
The Edmonton media was fishing for any sign that McDavid was committed to the organization and the city, but he wasn’t biting. Someone asked if he had a sense of unfinished business with his teammates after coming so close to raising the Cup, losing in seven games to Florida last season and in six games this month.
“This core has been together for a long time and we’ve been building to this moment all along. The work that’s gone on behind the scenes, the conversations, the endless disappointments and some good times along the way, obviously. We’re all in this together, trying to get it over that finish line,” McDavid said.
Then came the four words that shook a city to its soul.
“With that being said,” McDavid continued, “ultimately, I still need to do what’s best for me and my family. That’s who you have to take care of first.”
It was the first time McDavid even hinted at hesitation about his future in Edmonton. He’s entering the final season of an eight-year, $100 million deal signed in July 2017. Many assumed the ink would be drying on an extension with the Oilers — in what is expected to be the richest contract in NHL history — when he’s eligible to sign on July 1. But McDavid is unlikely to sign that extension unless he is comfortable with the progress Edmonton’s made in improving its roster for next season and beyond.
“I’m not in a rush to make any decision, so I don’t think that there needs to be any timeline,” McDavid said. “I know people are going to look at July 1 and will be looking to see if there’s anything done. But for me, no, I’m just not in a rush in that way.”
An NHL source said that McDavid isn’t committed, at this point, to staying with the Oilers beyond next season. But he’s also not committed to moving on from the organization that drafted him first overall in 2015.
“He’s trying to find reasons to stay, not to leave,” the source said. “But everything’s on the table for Connor right now.”
IF MCDAVID DOESN’T RE-SIGN with the Oilers, it would be an unprecedented moment in the history of NHL free agency. Never before has a generational talent — with multiple MVP awards and scoring titles to his credit — reached unrestricted free agency in his prime.
There might not be a comparative moment in North American professional sports since LeBron James and “The Decision” in 2010 — although given what fans and players have been chanting about McDavid after the Panthers’ second Stanley Cup win over Edmonton, one assumes McDavid won’t be taking his talents to South Beach.
With Stanley Cup contention as his goal, the pool of teams with whom McDavid would consider signing is limited. There’s been speculation about the Ontario native having a homecoming with the Toronto Maple Leafs, still seeking their first Stanley Cup since 1967; that he could join former Oilers GM Ken Holland with the Los Angeles Kings; that the New York Rangers could make him the king of Broadway while easing his goaltending headaches with Igor Shesterkin; or that well-maintained franchises like the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning could make their pitches.
McDavid is committed to Edmonton for the 2025-26 season. That list of potential suitors could change in that span, depending on their own fortunes.
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After Leon Draisaitl inked an eight-year, $112 million deal last summer — a contract that will keep him in Edmonton until 2033 — many assumed McDavid’s extension would be a mere formality. After all, why would Draisaitl sign without some indication that his close friend and frequent linemate McDavid would do the same?
But sources told ESPN in January that one signing was not a harbinger of the other, and that McDavid would make his own decision independent of Draisaitl’s.
But make no mistake: Draisaitl is a factor in McDavid’s decision. As are defenseman Evan Bouchard, forward Zach Hyman, forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and every other core player who theoretically will be in Edmonton for the next several seasons. As McDavid said, the core has been through playoff battles together, and there’s a sense of unfinished business for him in Edmonton.
“We were two games away from winning. Last year, we were two shots away from winning, so the belief is incredibly high in that room,” he said. “We talked about that all throughout the playoffs, and we do believe that this group can win and will win.”
But for all that belief, McDavid wants to understand the plan for how the team can win in the short term and the long term. It’s an essential part of his decision-making process to remain in Edmonton.
He wants to know how a team with just over $10 million in cap space, without much draft capital and the 30th-ranked prospect pool, can make the necessary moves to get over the championship hump and remain competitive. Last summer, that pool of young players got thinner when forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Phillip Broberg were poached by the St. Louis Blues via offer sheets.
McDavid nodded at that thin prospect pool during his press conference. “It’s not like we have a ton of cap room and we’ve got a long list of highly touted prospects knocking on the door,” he said.
McDavid reiterated: “If I feel that there’s a good window to win here over and over again, then signing is no problem.”
GM Stan Bowman didn’t necessarily agree that pitching McDavid on the Oilers’ window to win was any more vital than meeting his asking price during negotiations.
“I don’t know if you have to sell one thing any more than another,” he said.
But Bowman knows that convincing McDavid of Edmonton’s continuing commitment to win is paramount. When he was hired to replace Holland last summer, Bowman visited with McDavid, who told him that he wanted to win the Stanley Cup.
“That was it. We didn’t talk about anything else. This is his singular focus,” Bowman said.
“I guess it’s my job to connect with Connor and demonstrate that’s what we’re all trying to do. We all have the same objective. I know how passionate he is about winning. It’s what I love about him,” he said. “He’s not just a fantastic hockey player, but he’s a great person, a great leader, and he’s incredibly motivated to do whatever it takes.”
IF MCDAVID ULTIMATELY RE-SIGNS with the Oilers, what he hears from Bowman could determine the length of that contract. There’s a growing belief that McDavid may not sign an eight-year extension like Draisaitl, but could explore something in the three- to five-year range. That would allow him to attempt to finish the “unfinished business” with the core in Edmonton, while reaching UFA status in his early 30s with the NHL salary cap projected to continue its record-setting ascent.
Another reason to believe this could happen is Judd Moldaver, executive vice president at Wasserman and McDavid’s agent. He was the first NHL agent in the salary cap era to seek contracts for superstar clients with significantly less than maximum term. He’s gone shorter than eight years on blockbuster extensions for Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, with a five-year deal in 2019 and a four-year deal signed in 2023, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets star Zach Werenski (six years, signed in 2021). He could seek to do the same for McDavid.
Matthews had the league’s highest cap hit ($13.25 million average annual value) before Draisaitl’s contract ($14 million AAV) kicks in next season.
McDavid is all but certain to eclipse that. His next contract — at whatever length it ends up being — will range between $15.5 million and $19 million per year on a max deal, multiple sources indicated to ESPN. Anything above Draisaitl’s cap hit would set a new NHL record for highest average annual value in the cap era.
The money will take care of itself. It’s Connor McDavid, the guy with three Hart trophies as NHL MVP, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and five scoring titles. In theory, the contract negotiation with McDavid is essentially a general manager asking how much he needs, and then writing the check.
But McDavid has said that the chance to lift the Stanley Cup is more important than his bank account.
“Winning would be at the top of the list,” he said. “It’s the most important thing.”
The Oilers are confident that, after two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, they offer the best shot at winning for McDavid. But they also offer the comfort of being the only NHL home he’s known.
McDavid and his wife, Lauren Kyle McDavid, have a house in the Parkview area of Edmonton that was featured by Architectural Digest. Kyle McDavid also recently helped open the stylish Bar Trove in Edmonton that features Trove Living, a retail home furnishing store on the floor above it. Her company, Kyle & Co. Design, is located on the third floor of the building.
Given his history with the team and his roots in the city, the Oilers are optimistic but patient with McDavid.
“He’s earned the right for us to be respectful of his timing. Certainly we’re eager to meet with him whenever he wants, but we also understand that he just went through a very tough ending to the season,” Bowman said.
1:04
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: Connor McDavid transcends hockey
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman tells Stephen A. Smith that Connor McDavid’s impact transcends the game of hockey.
Last year, Leon Draisaitl didn’t sign his extension until Sept. 3.
“Timing-wise, Connor’s going to drive that process, but there’s no question he’s a pivotal player on our team for not just what he does on the ice, but his leadership,” Bowman said. “I’ve had a chance to work with him now and I’ve been just so impressed with things you guys probably don’t see. He’s incredibly important to our group and whenever he’s ready, we’re going to dive into that.”
Near the end of his news conference, McDavid was asked by a local reporter for a message to the fans. The ones that have been on this journey with the Oilers during his time with the team. The ones “wanting to see what exactly happens with your future here” in Edmonton, as the questioner put it.
“My message to the fans would be to keep being patient and keep believing. They’ve been through a lot, just like our team has. The emotional highs, the lows. I look at what these playoff runs do to my family. It’s hard on them. It’s hard on the fans. It’s hard on everybody. But ultimately when that day comes, it’ll all be worth it,” he said. “These moments are tough now. But when that moment comes, it’ll be worth the wait for sure.”
The message wasn’t a passionate commitment to stay in Edmonton nor was it a declaration that his bags are packed for free agency. The message was that a championship will make all the postseason heartache worth the pain. As the NHL offseason begins, where McDavid might eventually win that championship is, at this moment, uncertain.
Sports
Oilers trade Evander Kane to hometown Canucks
Published
2 hours agoon
June 25, 2025By
admin
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Greg WyshynskiJun 25, 2025, 12:38 PM ET
Close- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The Edmonton Oilers have traded winger Evander Kane to the Vancouver Canucks, clearing valuable cap space ahead of NHL free agency next month.
Kane, 33, has one more year on his four-year contract that carries a $5.125 million cap hit, and Vancouver is picking up his full salary. The Canucks traded Ottawa’s fourth-round pick in 2025 to the Oilers. That pick was actually sent to Vancouver by Edmonton last summer in a trade for forward Vasily Podkolzin.
Kane had a modified 16-team no-trade list. He is a Vancouver native who also played junior hockey in the city.
The veteran winger missed the entire 2024-25 season after multiple surgeries, first to his hip and groin areas and then knee surgery in January. He returned in the Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring 6 goals and 6 assists in 21 games as the Oilers lost to the Florida Panthers for the second straight season in the Final. His main asset was his physicality, as Kane had 44 penalty minutes to lead Edmonton in the postseason.
Kane thanked Oilers players, staff and ownership in a message on X “for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a respected and passionate franchise.” He thanked Oilers fans for “embracing me and showing unwavering support throughout my time in Edmonton.” Kane then said that he’s “incredibly excited for the next chapter of my career” with the Canucks.
“It’s an honor to become part of an organization and team I grew up watching as a kid. Vancouver is a city that lives and breathes hockey, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play in front of my hometown as I did many years ago as a Vancouver Giant,” he wrote.
As my time with the @EdmontonOilers has now come to a close, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank the entire organization, my teammates, and the incredible community of Edmonton.
To the Oilers Ownership, front office, coaching staff, and trainers-thank you for believing in… pic.twitter.com/huOxax5FxK
— Evander Kane (@evanderkane) June 25, 2025
The Oilers needed to open up salary cap space to improve their roster, but also because two hefty new contracts will hit their books next season: Center Leon Draisaitl’s cap hit goes from $8.5 million to $14 million on a new contract, and standout defenseman Evan Bouchard will also get a raise over his $3.9 million AAV as a restricted free agent.
The trade comes as the NHL is investigating the Oilers for their use of long-term injured reserve on Kane last season, a source confirmed to ESPN, focusing on the second surgery he had on his knee in January. The trade is not expected to affect that investigation.
Daily Faceoff first reported the investigation.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said the acquisition of Kane brings toughness to the team.
“Evander is a physical power forward who will add some much-needed size and toughness to our group,” Allvin said. “We like the way he wins puck battles along the boards and handles himself in the dirty areas in front of the net. Evander moves well around the ice and has proven to be a productive goal scorer in the National Hockey League. We are excited to bring him back home to Vancouver and our staff looks forward to working with him this coming season.”
This will be Kane’s 16th NHL season, having played 930 games with the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Oilers. He has 326 goals and 291 assists for 617 points in those games, including 1,186 penalty minutes.
Politics
Starmer’s team ask Labour MPs to remove names from rebel amendment that could bring down welfare bill
Published
2 hours agoon
June 25, 2025By
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Cabinet ministers have been asking Labour MPs to take their name off a rebel amendment to the government’s controversial welfare bill, Sky News can reveal.
In an attempt to quell the mounting rebellion of more than 100 MPs across all wings of the party, cabinet ministers were instructed to ring around the signatories of the amendment in a bid to get them to back the welfare cuts ahead of a planned vote next Tuesday.
Politics latest: PM ‘very confident’ he’ll remain Labour leader
Two Labour MPs said they had been asked if they would take their names off the amendment, while one was asked if they would be prepared to abstain on the bill next week.
One Labour MP said: “‘The more they tell people to take their names off, the more names are added on.”
Others were also told their actions could provoke a fresh leadership challenge and that they were aligning themselves with Nigel Farage in a bid to get them to back down.
“I had a conversation with a senior cabinet member yesterday who basically said if the government is defeated next week it will trigger a leadership contest,” a Labour MP said.
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“I can see how that might be the case but I would argue if that’s where we end up it’s because the government have allowed that to happen. The ball is very much in their court.
“By and large the rebels do not want this to be about leadership. We just want to government to listen.”
Another added that while they had not received a call from a cabinet minister, they knew “some colleagues are being told there will be a leadership challenge or a general election which is utter nonsense”, adding: “Everything is all over the place.”
The amendment, if passed, would effectively kill the government’s welfare reforms by failing to give it a second reading in the Commons.
What are the main changes in the welfare bill?
The most controversial elements of the government’s welfare bill are changes to PIP and Universal Credit.
PIP is money for people who have extra care needs or mobility needs as a result of a disability.
People who claim it – some of whom are in work – are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, such as washing and preparing food, and this influences how much they will receive.
Under the plans, from November 2026, people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP – instead of fewer points across a broader range of tasks the person needs help with.
The changes do not affect the mobility component of PIP.
And from April next year, the health element of Universal Credit will be frozen in cash terms for existing claimants at £97 per week until 2029/2030.
For new claimants, the health element of Universal Credit will be reduced to £50 per week.
However, ministers point to the fact that the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in 2025-26 to £106 per week by 2029-30.
Overall, 3.2 million families are expected to lose an average of £1,720 by the end of 2030 due to the changes.
However, the government has stressed that these figures do not take into account the £1bn that is being put towards helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work.
It calls for a delay to the £5bn package to assess the impact of cuts to personal independence payments (PIP) and expresses concerns about the government’s own figures showing 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty – including 50,000 children.
The fact the amendment was tabled by Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, with the support of 12 other select committee chairs, has alarmed Downing Street – as has the sheer scale of the rebellion.
At least 123 Labour MPs have signed the public amendment, but Sky News understands more names are likely to appear in the coming days.
While Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner, have insisted the vote will go ahead next Tuesday, the decision to instruct cabinet ministers to call around colleagues suggests the government is concerned about potentially losing the vote.
‘The government is not listening’
A Labour MP who signed the amendment said most rebels wanted the government to pause the proposals pending a proper consultation.
They said the fact that the text of the bill had been published before the consultation had closed was proof the government was “not listening”.
Another MP said they had raised concerns that if constituents are moved from PIP to universal credit they could potentially exceed the benefits cap, which could disproportionally hit those living in cities where the cost of living is higher.
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Welfare versus warfare – the PM faces the hardest fight of his premiership
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“I can’t look at my constituents and say I’m confident this won’t negatively affect them,” they said.
The MP also criticised the government’s approach to keeping MPs on side, saying it had failed to make the case for reform consistently.
“The engagement stopped after the initial flurry of bad press. Now there is a small amount of activity before the vote. Ministers need to be out there; the PM needs to be out there.”
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1:14
Starmer faces welfare rebellion
Despite the growing rebellion, the prime minister has indicated he is not willing to offer concessions on the government’s welfare plans.
Asked by reporters at the NATO summit in the Netherlands if he was willing to make changes to the bill, Sir Keir said: “We have got to make the reforms to our system. It isn’t working as it is.
“It doesn’t work as it stands for people who desperately need help to get into work or for people who need protection. It is broken.
“We were elected in to change that which is broken, and that’s what we will do, and that’s why we will press ahead with reforms.”
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
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