A woman who visited a doctors in the US was charged for an ’emotional and behavioural assessment’ simply for shedding a tear.
YouTuber Camille Johnson, from New York, says her sister has a rare disease and has been struggling to find appropriate care.
During a recent trip to a clinic, she says her sibling ‘got emotional 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,’ the vlogger said.
In a Twitter thread revealing pitfalls of the American healthcare system, she wrote: ‘They charged her more for crying than they did for a vision assessment test.
‘They charged her more for crying than for a hemoglobin test. They charged her more for crying than for a health risk assessment. They charged her more for crying than for a capillary blood draw.’
For all these other tests, Camille’s sister was charged between $15 and $30, as shown in a photograph of the bill.
In a nod to the left-wing senator for Vermont, she wrote: ‘@BernieSanders
I’ve always wanted to tell you i love you. Maybe you will see this. Thank you for your work.’
People were shocked by what they’d read, with one person commenting: ‘This is why most people don’t seek help. They just cry at home hoping to heal in silence. smh. I pray your sister gets better.’
Another added: ‘Dude that’s so wrong and has to be illegal. I don’t know how the hell anyone could make money off of someone simply expressing emotion. Jesus Christ, capitalism gone too far imo.’
But not everyone thought such a charge was unreasonable, with one Twitter user commenting: ‘No. She was crying, due to frustration/expression of her emotions and therefore needed a quick mental health screen to determine if she needs further evaluation. Depression…suicide…..heightened anxiety.’
Another follower replied: ‘But they didn’t evaluate nor ask her any questions pertaining to her crying. They just added it as a charge to the bill.
‘Looks like “time” was really of the essence without her even receiving the actual, spontaneous “assessment” claimed to be given.’
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