There’s no crying at a doctor’s appointment. Not unless you want to cop a $55 for it. Well in America at least. In Australia, you can cry and Medicare is happy to foot the bill (thanks Medicare!).
A sad patient in America had a “brief emotional” moment while at an appointment and was billed for it.
Costly cry sess
The woman is the little sister of American YouTube star Camille Johnson who has shared the experience on Twitter.
My little sister has been really struggling with a health condition lately and finally got to see a doctor,” Johnson said in a tweet. “They charged her $40 (AUD $55) for crying.”
Johnson said her sister has a rare disease and has been having trouble finding reasonable care. She started to cry at the doctor’s appointment because “she feels frustrated and helpless”.
One tear in and they charged her $40 without addressing why she is crying, trying to help, doing any evaluation, any prescription, nothing,” she said.
If you have a look at the bill, the patient’s “brief emotional” moment was actually more expensive than the blood test, the vision assessment and the health risk assessment.
Thousands of people have commented on Johnson’s tweet, offering messages of support or similar experiences.
According to one woman,
My daughter was charged $44 for “skin to skin contact”. In other words when they flopped my grandson up onto her chest after the umbilical cord was cut. I guess the cheaper alternative was letting him fall on the floor?”
We’ve heard a lot of horror stories about the American medical system and how expensive it can be. However, it’s not just in America.
Most expensive birth ever
A few years ago we shared a story of a mum who unexpectedly gave birth in Dubai very prematurely. Her baby girl was born at just 23 weeks gestation and weighed around 400 grams. Her parents, Syeda and Azhar expected to give birth in the UK so didn’t have any insurance.
They were left with a newborn in the NICU and a hospital bill for AED $444,123.68. This converts to just over $170,000 Australian dollars.
What’s more, the couple was expecting the bill to exceed AED$800,000 (or $307,000 Australian Dollars) by the time baby Amal is ready to be discharged! EEK! Thank goodness for Medicare hey!
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- VIDEO: Mum, Who Didn’t Know She Was Pregnant, Gives Birth on a Plane
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- This is What Having 10 Kids in 13 Years Looks Like
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