Problems with healthcare services in the U.S. are pretty well-known. There are many people who complain about being overcharged by hospitals or who are unable to find the right treatment.

There are a variety of reasons that healthcare costs are astronomically high in America, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to see an utterly inexplicable charge on a medical bill. One woman noted a particularly odd charge her sister received in the hopes of spreading awareness about the need for fair and affordable care.

Her sister was charged $40 for crying during a hospital visit. 

New York-based content creator Camille Johnson is best known for sharing her makeup looks on social media, but she felt it was necessary to post on X to share her sister’s medical bill from her hospital visit.

She wrote in her post, “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.”

Johnson included a photo of her sister’s bill with personal information covered up. She had been charged for several tests, including a $20 visual acuity screening and a $30 capillary blood draw. But Johnson had one medical service circled in red: a “brief emotional/behavioral assessment,” which was billed at $40.

Johnson further expressed her frustrations with the medical bill in another post. “They charged her more for crying than they did for a vision assessment test,” she wrote. “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.”

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Her sister had a very understandable reason for crying, but medical providers didn’t seem very concerned.

In one more follow-up post, Johnson explained that her sister “has a rare disease” and has “been really struggling to find care.” All of the emotion she felt boiled over in that moment, leading to her tears.

“She got emotional because she feels frustrated and helpless,” she said. “One tear in and they charged her $40 without addressing why she is crying, trying to help, doing any evaluation, any prescription, nothing.”

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This mysterious assessment her sister was charged for is commonly used in psychological care and happens when a doctor watches a patient’s behavior, paying specific attention to how they respond to certain triggers. It can identify mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. But, in an interview with The Independent, Johnson insisted her sister did not receive any care to the $40 charge.

“They did not evaluate her for depression or other mental illnesses, nor did they discuss her mental health with her,” she said. “She never talked to a specialist, was not referred to anyone, not prescribed anything, and they did nothing to assist with her mental health.”

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Thankfully, Johnson’s sister didn’t have a problem paying her medical bills, but others aren’t so lucky.

She was still on her father’s insurance plan, which covered the cost of her hospital visit. $40 doesn’t sound like all that much, but it was just one piece of her whole bill, which many people would have a hard time paying if they were in her shoes.

Recent data shows that about 8% of the U.S. population does not have health insurance, which means they receive no assistance with their medical bills. This stops some people from getting the care they need. Just under 50% of Americans said they had a hard time paying for healthcare, and another 36% said they had chosen not to get the care they needed in the last year because they couldn’t afford it.

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Johnson’s posts went viral on social media, and she hopes they can be a part of starting the conversation about desperately needed healthcare reform. “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,” she explained. 

“I really hope this tweet can incite improvement in our healthcare system as well as be a warning for the future,” Johnson added.

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Sanika Nalgirkar, M.F.A., is a writer who covers entertainment & news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.