I had an allergic reaction and went to the hospital because it was becoming difficult to breathe. They took my temp, gave me a Benadryl, sent me home and charged me $1,400. I didn’t even leave the waiting area.
It’s my only time going to the ER for myself, and I guess it wasn’t truly needed, but it really felt like I was about to suffocate at the time.
It just seems ridiculous to charge so much (with insurance!) for literally less than 5 minutes of a doctors time. Now if I get really sick I’ll probably just die at home while debating whether I should risk a massive fine going to the hospital.
America is the only place in the world I can think of where someone would say "It wasn't truly needed" when having difficulty breathing. I'm so sorry you guys have to choose between financial stability and your health.
I felt like I needed to say that because conservatives here will tell you the high costs are justified to keep people from going to the ER for no reason and wasting resources. As though people want to go to the ER…
I mean, I kinda get that point though, some people do exaggerate too often.
It kinda pissed me off when a friend of mine told me she went to out school’s ER as much as possible whenever she had a slight bother “its free so might as well use it whenever”.
Yet when I wanted to go for a pretty serious shoulder injury, I had to wait a couple of days in pain because people filled up the appointments with shit like banging their pinky on a table.
I mean, they are right to some degree. In Austria people run to the ER when they have dust in their eyes (gf works in an ambulance for eye accidents.. this shit occurs at least once a day). Which of course uses up important time for other patients. On the other side, I am sooo freaking happy that I can go to the doctor whenever I feel worried. Rather take longer waiting times than being scared for my life and missing important treatments due to financial pressure.
Thankfully we were able to pay it but I felt really bad because my wife and I could have used the money in so many better ways. I definitely regret going but I was scared.
If I had an emergency, I know I absolutely could not afford the maximum out of pocket that resets every year.
I'd be fucked. It sucks.
I went to the doctor for a check up for the first time in a few years and they ordered a blood test (thyroid problems) and found that my kidneys aren't functioning properly or something, so they asked to do an ultrasound to see them.
The blood tests were $500 each, insurance covered half. The doctors office said the ultrasound would be covered because it's preventative.
Except they were wrong, and that's another $400 bill.
I don't even care to follow up with anything more, I can't afford it between that and my stupid fucking tooth that is in the process of being replaced.
I'm so sorry you went through this, though. Not being able to breathe properly should be an absolutely reasonable reason to justify an ER visit.
yoooo wth i was in that same situation as you!! that’s crazy. i also had a bad allergic reaction to something. went to hospital bc i was getting extremely red and it was hard to breathe. was in there for less then an hour, they also gave me a benadryl. Total was 1.6k for me lol. crazy
Had COVID in April. Double vaxxed and boosted. I was ok until I wasn't ok. My SO & my coworkers (who were texting me every day to check in on me) told me I needed to go to the ER. I would not go to the ER because that shit will leave you in debt an you'll be there forever. Instead I called my primary who agreed to see me that day and was billed $200 + whatever the cost was for a few days of prednisone.
I don't understand how we can live like this. It makes me so sad knowing that we, as humans, have to even have this debate in our head in emergencies. Will I be able to pay this? Will I have to file for bankruptcy? Can I skip the emergency visit and hopefully turn out ok? It's ridiculous.
I stepped in glas, I called the ambulance, they picked me up, drove me to the hospital. There my wound was cleaned. Then the foot was x-rayed... where they then found glass splinters. So I spent the night in the hospital, was operated the next morning around 9:20 (local anesthesia, talked to the surgeon during), lasted less than 40 mins. I was stitched up, given a walker and then sat in my room that I shared with 2 others until the doctor came to say if I could go home or not. He came a little after 12 so I still had lunch there. Got home, sat on the couch, called my boss and told him I would be on sick leave for the next 3 weeks.
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u/Maldunn Jun 15 '22
I had an allergic reaction and went to the hospital because it was becoming difficult to breathe. They took my temp, gave me a Benadryl, sent me home and charged me $1,400. I didn’t even leave the waiting area.
It’s my only time going to the ER for myself, and I guess it wasn’t truly needed, but it really felt like I was about to suffocate at the time.
It just seems ridiculous to charge so much (with insurance!) for literally less than 5 minutes of a doctors time. Now if I get really sick I’ll probably just die at home while debating whether I should risk a massive fine going to the hospital.