A US woman has claimed that she was charged extra for crying during surgery in a social media post that has left many shocked. The woman, named Midge, shared a picture of the invoice she received after a mole removal procedure. Besides physician and surgical services, the bill also included an $11 charge for "brief emotion". That's approximately Rs 815 for a "Brief emotional/behavioral assessment" - which Twitter users branded "absurd" and "ridiculous".
"Mole removal: $22. Crying: extra," Midge, who goes by @mxmclain on Twitter, wrote while sharing a picture of the bill on Wednesday. "I didn't even get a damn sticker," she jokingly added.
The post has gone viral with nearly 2 lakh 'likes' and hundreds of shocked comments.
Many people in the comments section criticised the American healthcare system.
"The best innovation to come out of America is the numerous ways they find to charge patients receiving medical treatment," one Twitter user wrote.
"This is US healthcare. I once got billed for going too in-depth on my trauma's with my psychiatrist," a Twitter user claimed.
Others used memes to express their shock
Several people tried to understand the Current Procedural Terminology or CPT code used by the hospital.
CPT code 96127 (Brief emotional/behavioral assessment) may be used to report behavioral assessments and to screen and assess a patient's mental health.
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