Shocked patient charged $40 ‘for crying’ during doctor’s appointment
From NYPOST.COM
A New York woman recently shared that her sister was reportedly charged $40 “for crying” at a doctor’s appointment.
Camille Johnson, 25, a popular YouTube and internet personality, shared a photo of her younger sibling’s medical bill.
“My little sister has been really struggling with a health condition lately and finally got to see a doctor. They charged her $40 for crying,” she captioned the photo in a tweet.
The image highlighted a segment of the bill that docked her sis for a “BRIEF EMOTIONAL/BEHAV ASSMT.”
https://twitter.com/OffbeatLook/status/1526618863646949376
In the Twitter thread, she explained that her sister has a “rare disease” and “got emotional because she feels frustrated and helpless,” as she’s reportedly struggled to find care.
“One tear in and they charged her $40 without addressing why she is crying, trying to help, doing any evaluation, any prescription, nothing,” she wrote.
The photo went viral with more than 54,000 retweets and 425,000 likes, plus thousands of comments from people expressing their shock.
In the thread, Johnson also noted that the “assessment” cost more than a vision test, hemoglobin test, a health risk assessment and a capillary blood draw.
A brief emotional/behavioral assessment is a mental health screening that tests for signs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, suicidal risk or substance abuse. It is usually issued as a questionnaire that is often handed out and filled in before seeing the doctor.
Doctors have been testing and charging for the test since 2015 when it became a federal mandate as part of the Affordable Care Act “to include mental health services as part of the essential benefits that must be included in all insurance plans offered in individual and small group markets.”
However, Johnson told The Independent that her sister was never evaluated. She claimed that the doctor at the unnamed medical facility noticed her sister’s tears but said nothing.
“They did not evaluate her for depression or other mental illnesses, nor did they discuss her mental health with her,” Johnson said. “She never talked to a specialist, was not referred to anyone, not prescribed anything, and they did nothing to assist with her mental health.”
And while Johnson’s sist... (Read more)
Tweets mentioned:
https://twitter.com/OffbeatLook/status/1526618863646949376
https://twitter.com/Laurencugliotta/status/1526770559819849728
https://twitter.com/Drileymack/status/1526720582473199617
Submitted 706 days ago
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