Imagine the Charge If a Doctor Showed Up

The ER bill was the last straw for Amber Joy Milbrodt.
Photo by Shaun Healsey

When Amber Joy Milbrodt, 29, broke her leg in September, she went to the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. She waited and waited, yet she was never called to see a doctor. Finally, after 19 hours, Milbrodt limped out of the hospital, untreated and in disgust. 

Two weeks later, she received a bill for $162 from Parkland. For what? While Milbrodt was in the waiting room, a nurse took her temperature and blood pressure and inquired about her level of pain. That, Parkland officials said, was worth billing for.

“They didn’t do anything worth $162,” Milbrodt says. “Checking your blood pressure is not something they can charge you for.”

However, Parkland did relent under media pressure and announced that it will now charge patients only after they’ve received treatment. “Our decision was based on what is best for our patients rather than on financial considerations,” said John Dragovits, the hospital’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Michelle Diament is a freelance writer based in Memphis, Tenn.