Woman charged $40 by doctor for crying during appointment

A woman shared how her sister was reportedly charged $40 (£32) "for crying" at a doctor's appointment.

Popular YouTube personality Camille Johnson took to her Twitter to share a photo of her younger sister'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 wrote in the photo's caption.

The image showcased the bill with a segment highlighted on the bill to indicate the $40 charge in question, which read, "BRIEF EMOTIONAL/BEHAV ASSMT."

Within the Twitter thread, Johnson explained that her sister has a "rare disease" and has found it hard 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.

Johnson further added that the "assessment" was more expensive then a capillary blood draw, vision test, health risk assessment, and hemoglobin test.

This post prompted people in the comments of the thread to share their own stories of medical visit bills as well as have a conversation about the perplexingly high prices of medical care in the United States.

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One woman wrote: "I got charged over $2,000 for an emergency room trip for a nosebleed that wouldn't stop. I had to wait so long, the nurse moved me into a room because I was bleeding all over the waiting room. Doc never saw me; it stopped bleeding before he arrived."

"Yep. My daughter was charged $44 for "skin-to-skin contact." In other words, when they flopped my grandson up onto her chest after the umbilical cord was cut. I guess the cheaper alternative was letting him fall on the floor? "another added.

A third quipped:"Tell me you live in America without telling me that you live in America."

Someone else, who referenced a similar case last year of a woman who goes by @mxmclain, on the platform, which was charged $11 for "brief emotion," wrote: "Wow, they're REALLY jackin' up the cost of crying. This sounded very familiar, so I searched my timeline and... bam! *less than a year ago*."

Brief emotional/behavioral assessments are mental health screening tests that look for signs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, suicidal risk, or substance abuse.

The information is usually issued as a questionnaire that is generally handed out and filled in before meeting with the doctor.

Since 2015, doctors have been testing and charging for the test when it became a federal mandate as part of the Affordable Care Act.

It happens 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."

Despite this, Johnson told The Independent that her sister never was evaluated.

She claimed that the doctor at the anonymous medical facility saw that her sister was crying but said nothing about it.

"They did not evaluate her for depression or other mental illnesses, nor did they discuss her mental health with her," said Johnson.

"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 although their dad's medical insurance reportedly covers Johnson's sister, she hopes that her sister's story can help improve the US healthcare system.

"We need a drastic change in the healthcare industry, and I thought that sharing a real-life story online would be a good way to open up the conversation and help advocate for change."

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