Upon receiving the treatment bill, an American discovers that the hospital has inflated the bill. the reason ? “Emotional evaluation” because the patient cried during the consultation. Overpaying, which his sister shares on social networks, was outraged by the situation, and quickly interacted with netizens on Twitter.
It’s a rant that didn’t go unnoticed on Twitter. Camille Johnson, a 25-year-old American living in New York, USA, is disgusted with the hospital establishment’s overcharging towards her little sister. To be heard, The New Yorker has not hesitated to share her exasperation on social networks, Tuesday 17 May 2022, the British daily reports. independent . for him mail It caused a reaction of thousands of netizens: it was “liked” over 520,000 times and retweeted over 68,000 times.
$40 extra for tears
the reason ? The hospital added $40 (about €37.70) to her sister’s medical bill, which is $485. Reason invoked: the patient cried during her consultation.
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Last January, the young woman, suffering from a rare disease, consulted a doctor: the latter undertook a health examination, including in particular an eye examination, and an analysis of hemoglobin, which is capillary blood. The patient did not notice anything abnormal in her care until she received the bill…
My little sister has had a lot of health issues recently and was finally able to see a doctor. They cost her $40 to cry, “ Support Bill Johnson writes on her Twitter account. She adds in the comments to her post: “My sister struggled to get care. She let herself be overwhelmed with emotion by her frustration and helplessness.”
My little sister has been really ill recently and was finally able to see a doctor. They charged her $40 for crying. pic.twitter.com/fbvOWDzBQM
– Camille Johnson (@OffbeatLook) May 17 2022
Charging an “emotional assessment” is legal in the US
But how can a hospital make a patient pay for her tears? Invoice is indicated, for $40 required Brief emotional and behavioral assessment.
Since 2015, in the United States, clinicians can charge a fee to perform an “emotional assessment” when a patient’s health status requires examination by a professional who screens for mental illness, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, or anxiety.
But Camille Johnson makes it clear independent which no specialist has examined his sister Whether for depression or other mental illness, And “So nothing was prescribed to him and nothing was done to improve his mental health.”. So she adds it “No one tried to understand why she was crying or trying to help her.”.
Case is not isolated
Exposing this kind of imbalance is crucial to Camille Johnson: “We need a gradual change in healthcare and I think sharing a real-life story online would be a great way to open up the conversation and help advocate for change.”I explained to independent.
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As she had hoped, her tweet, which went viral, allowed a wide return of similar experiences. Many American netizens have been pushed to share bloated medical bills with expensive services, which they haven’t always taken advantage of.
For example, a woman named Lauren Cugliotta admitted that $1,900 (about 1,780 euros) from “Women’s Services”, billed by the hospital, after surgery last June to remove a tumor. Behind the terminology “Women’s Services” was a pregnancy test, she explains on Twitter.
When I had surgery last June to remove a tumor, I asked them what the purpose of Women’s Services was. It was for a pregnancy test they took.
1902 dollars to pee and dip a stick in it
Fortunately, most of them were covered by insurance but geez pic.twitter.com/F7CI3XflfC
—Lauren Cugliotta (Laurencugliotta) May 18 2022
So the case of Camille Johnson’s younger sister does not seem isolated. It ended well for her, as she was covered by her father’s insurance plan. So his medical expenses have been taken care of, but not all Americans can say the same.