People Are Sharing Their ER Horror Stories, And It's Proof Of How Broken Our Healthcare System Is
- ER visits in the US can result in exorbitant bills for minimal care, leaving patients with unexpected charges.
1.A hospital should not sound like a guy in a back alley trying to sell you a counterfeit Coach purse.
2.One of the worst parts about going to the ER is that if you aren't bleeding out, you're going to have to wait, oftentimes in pain.
3.ERs can be overworked and understaffed, leaving people to wait entire days or nights.
4. You might wait so long you actually decide to leave — then get charged anyways.
Went to the ER a few weeks ago for back pain. Gave the receptionist my info & sat in the waiting room. Suddenly felt fine, decided to leave. Saw no one.Today, got a bill for $1300+ for “Emergency services” and “blood tests”.This is why we hate healthcare companies.
— tоm henrich (@tomhenrich) December 12, 2024
5.Seriously. Welcome to America.
6. Get ready to pay 3k for absolutely nothing.
I was having chest pains one night and went to the ER. I was triaged and sent to the waiting room - for 8+ hours. Every time I checked on my status on the wait list I had been removed from it. The third time it happened I left. Never saw a doctor. Sent me a bill for $3k.
— Jitobear (@jitobear) December 7, 2024
7.Though maybe it's better to avoid even speaking to a doctor for five minutes.
8. Because if you're lucky enough to speak to a doctor, you'll get charged way more, even if you're not actually provided with emergency care or medication.
9. The hospital might not even admit you, forcing you to seek out another.
10.They'll still bill you for the first hospital (where they didn't treat you), though.
11.God forbid you actually need to be transported to another hospital.
12. People are straight-up deciding to drive themselves — during a medical emergency — because they can't afford the transport.
13.It's a sad reality in America that most people know to forgo ambulances — but sometimes it's unavoidable.
14.You may finally get a bed, but they may have no idea what's wrong with you. And every second it takes for them to figure it out — or attend to other patients and possibly forget about you — you're charged.
15. Or they may stick you in a room with a Tylenol and hope for the best.
16. They may not let you leave and keep charging you money you don't have.
17. That's right, folks — you could be forced to stay a whole weekend without care and get charged tens of thousands of dollars.
18.And then you may leave with no more clarity than you went in with...
19....With a $17k bill and a doctor telling you "nothing is wrong"...
20. ...Even if something was definitely wrong.
21. You may leave in more pain than you came in with.
I’ll never forget going to the ER with insane chest & back pain and I got an X-ray and some IV pain meds. They didn’t know what was wrong & I actually left in more pain. Got a $12K+ bill in the mail for that 30 min I spent at the ER. UHC covered maybe ≈$1K of it 🙃 https://t.co/2BvyUf47p2
— 𝕾𝖎𝖊𝖗𝖗𝖆 𝕷𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖓 (@arreisnerual) December 6, 2024
22.Or you could be discharged with inadequate or incorrect care.
23.They might even give you the wrong medication.
24.Speaking of medications...hospitals will individually package medications and over-charge you.
25. Pro tip: Always ask for an itemized bill.
26. These numbers are basically made up anyways.
Had to take my wife to the ER (nothing serious, she needed an IV). We got a bill saying we owed 17 GRAND for essentially hooking her up to a saline IV and a doctor speaking to us 5 mins.We said we needed a cash price and they came back to us with a cost of 3 grand.How does…
— Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) September 25, 2024
27.Another pro tip: Don't get bitten by a rattlesnake in the US.
28.Don't get in a car crash, either.
29.If you need surgery...have fun paying that off for your entire life!
30.You won't even be able to afford painkillers when the billing department is through with you.
31.Hospital fees are just ridiculous. Beyond overcharging for supplies, they'll charge you just for visiting and then also charge you separately for seeing a doctor. Oh, and a PA, apparently.
32. Don't forget "hospital fees."
33.I'm genuinely convinced health insurance is a scam at this point.
34. Like, how is this legal?
35. Why are there so many separate fees?
36.This CT scan alone is over 5k.
37.Insurance definitely helps, but it still leaves you holding the bag on thousands.
38.And it introduces all kinds of other concerns — waiting for emergency care due to your deductible should not even be a thought.
39.Finally, I think this story sums it all up nicely.
None of this is any shade to our overworked nurses and doctors — instead, it's an indictment of the current healthcare system that prioritizes profits above all else. If you've experienced this in a visit to the ER, we want to hear from you. Let us know your ER horror story in the comments below or via this anonymous form.
