16 Patients Posted Photos Of Their Outrageous Hospital Bills, And It Shows How Horrible The US Healthcare System Is

Note: This article contains mention of miscarriage and still birth.

According to the Texas Tribune and a nationwide survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 100 million people in the US have medical debt. Even more bleak — about one in five people with all forms of debt say they don't think they'll ever be able to pay it off. This creates a problem for those who would rather choose not to seek healthcare so they can avoid a huge bill, like the ones received by these 16 patients:

1.This person says they were charged $1,406 for a splinter removal:

photo of the bill

2.This person was charged about $300 for a crisis evaluation from a mental health center:

  u/Accurate_Owl_6043 / Via reddit.com

3.Here are all the bills this person received after accidentally getting their hand crushed under a car and having to have two fingers amputated. (Spoiler: They equal over $1.1 million of debt):

  u/yeawrongperson / Via reddit.com

4.This person said a hospital billed their insurance nearly $23,000 for labs and IV meds:

  u/Pasturemate / Via reddit.com

5.Here are all the bills this dad received after going into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, he recently retired and his Medicare card was still being processed at the time:

  u/Yue4prex / Via reddit.com

6.Here's the $24,000 bill this woman received following a miscarriage:

line item receipt

7.Here's the $1.9 million bill this person received after having their aorta repaired:

  u/xoducexnxtyxspfils / Via reddit.com

8.This person said they were surprised to see how high their bill was after getting injured while on active duty:

the bill showing for over 23 thousand

9.This person says they were charged about $1,400 for an inch of stitches:

  u/Thick_Upstairs2155 / Via reddit.com

10.This person said they went to a hospital and was told they were just having a panic attack – and then they got this $832 bill for it:

  u/3_T_SCROAT / Via reddit.com

11.This person was charged about $850 for a tetanus shot at a hospital:

  u/MasterDebater100 / Via reddit.com

12.Here's a $63 bill parents randomly received an entire year after their son's birth:

  u/Leemage / Via reddit.com

13.This person said they went to a hospital, had blood drawn and tested, and was sent home after being told they had an unidentifiable virus. And this is their $1,553 bill:

  u/ladystarkitten / Via reddit.com

14.This is a payment breakdown showing what a family owes after having a stillbirth:

after insurance, they still owe over 2 thousand

15.This person said they were charged $2,883 for a three-hour hospital stay:

  u/greybear91 / Via reddit.com

16.And finally – and perhaps more egregiously – this person's insurance only covered 1/4 of their overall cost, leaving them with a $17,000 hospital bill:

  u/roostarfeesh / Via reddit.com