A woman in Buffalo, New York, shared online that she went to an emergency room after feeling unspecified pain. Although the visit lasted about an hour and no doctor ever came to see her, she was ultimately charged more than $2,000. Her clip garnered strong reactions, with many criticizing the American healthcare system.
Rachael Doherty shared her story on TikTok. She is a thyroid cancer survivor and routinely shares anecdotes from her life as well as her opinions on certain subjects, oftentimes relating to the medical field. Her short, albeit expensive, ER visit clip, though, garnered more than 153,800 views, 3,400 likes, and 1,523 comments.
The New York woman detailed her entire visit to the emergency room right after she received her bill. According to her, she was feeling pain, although she didn’t specify what kind. Upon arrival, she was transported to a room that, in her own words, looked like a “storage closet with a bed.”
Rachael said in the clip that she didn’t see a doctor during her stay. Instead, a physician assistant stopped by her room. She added that there was no testing and no imaging during her ER visit, but she did receive a “shot for pain,” after which she was discharged.
Final Bill Revealed
After her discharge, one person eventually came in and took her vitals. She claims they never did so when she was in the room waiting, and only happened when she was about to leave.
Finally, after sharing details of her ER visit, she read her bill. For the shot, she was charged $2.18. Then, she was charged $154 for administering the shot. Finally, for an “emergency department level 4 visit, high urgency severity,” she was charged $1,878. In total, she must pay $2,034.18.
Of course, the New York woman was shocked by the high cost of her ER visit. After all, she claims no doctor ever saw her and even wondered how her unspecified pain qualified as a “high urgency severity” visit.
“This is healthcare in America,” Rachael said.
Reacting To A $2,000 Bill
Users seemed to agree, with Rachael’s clip sparking many responses.
Many criticized the American healthcare system, with one viewer commenting, “I live in Canada. We don’t pay the ER bill.” Another netizen agreed and made it political, saying, “Funding wars, not healthcare.”
One nurse in the comments wrote, “As a nurse who does injections, I don’t make $154 per minute.” Similarly, a user aware of how emergency rooms work told Rachael, “Level 4 is not priority. It is moderate pain.”
The New York woman’s clip is just one of the many stories involving an exorbitant medical bill shared online. The outrage from viewers who have suffered the same fate, combined with other users sharing how their countries have free healthcare, makes this type of video very popular. By the looks of it, the same applied to Rachael’s ER visit story.
Rachael has asked for a revaluation after receiving her bill. No updates regarding her bill have been issued so far.
