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Louis Staples
Sep 16, 2019
Bernie Sanders has been fighting for universal healthcare for decades – as he said at the last Democrat debate, he literally “wrote the damn bill”.
Now, the Democratic candidate for president has taken to Twitter to ask his followers about their strangest medical bills. This prompted thousands of his followers to reply with their own experiences.
One heart-breaking story in particular has gone viral, and will certainly make British readers feel lucky for the NHS. Dr Jennifer Gunter shared the story about being billed for the birth of her son who died soon after birth.
$600 for my son who lived about 3 minutes. He received no medical care. At all. As he died almost immediately he di… https://t.co/FjaSHqTikd— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568507208
To make matters even more absurd, it was from the very department and hospital that she works on.
It was from my own department too. Ha! You asked for absurd. When I got home this $600 bill came for Aidan. It was… https://t.co/edy9uKE2dk— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568507472
And then I called the billing department and literally had to argue with them about my son being dead and they didn… https://t.co/1dVvgKDCm5— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568507863
So I wrote a very threatening e-mail to the hospital CEO and told him I would call the newspaper (this was pre Twit… https://t.co/ckx75sYDP1— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568507863
To make matters worse, a mistake with charges meant that she had to spend time disputing charges she was billed for her deceased child.
Oh hey @BernieSanders here’s another good one! I was sent to collections for an x-ray one of my son’s had that neve… https://t.co/qtQrHdAF9z— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568510618
So as my insurance rightly declined to pay for the 2nd x-ray that never happened after months of arguing I was sent… https://t.co/sK8ExrAWQ3— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568510619
And the bill was pulled from collections. I was send to collections for an x-ray that never happened. How fucked up is that?— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568510619
I’d forgotten about those few seconds that felt like an eternity when I saw the letter addressed to “Parents of Aid… https://t.co/SiKB6o6lb5— Jennifer Gunter (@Jennifer Gunter) 1568513825
People reacted strongly to the heartbreaking story, with many sending messages of support and sharing similarly unfair experiences.
@DrJenGunter I had a home birth & my daughter passed after 5hrs due to a heart condition. I was taken to a hospital… https://t.co/uAefkpkv0x— Memorie Holiday 🏳️🌈🏴 ↙️↙️↙️ (@Memorie Holiday 🏳️🌈🏴 ↙️↙️↙️) 1568507330
@DrJenGunter $5000 for a c-section I never got. When I explained I didn't have a c-section I was asked "are you su… https://t.co/refxogstxR— Liz Zimmermann (@Liz Zimmermann) 1568517241
@DrJenGunter Absurd is not a strong enough word to describe this.— Jeff Pappone 🇨🇦 (@Jeff Pappone 🇨🇦) 1568507370
@DrJenGunter @OnlyPrions My heart just broke reading this thread. I’m so sorry. I was in the middle of tweeting a… https://t.co/IRIFb4tQjS— 𝙴𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚂𝚢𝚕𝚟𝚊 🇦🇺🦘😷🦠💉✨ (@𝙴𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚂𝚢𝚕𝚟𝚊 🇦🇺🦘😷🦠💉✨) 1568524585
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