A new mom has been charged ‘almost a million dollars’ for having a baby that was taken into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Janice Hernandez gave birth to baby Aliana at the end of October, but her daughter was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) – a rare condition affects one in 20,000 newborns, with symptoms including weak muscle tone and a difficulty feeding.
It meant that the infant, who was born via an emergency C-section, was taken into NICU where she remained for seven weeks before being discharged.
The 25-year-old mom has shared her disgust with followers on her TikTok account, as she tried to fathom how she was charged almost $750,000.
“I just the bill for my daughter’s NICU stay, do you guys want to know how much it is? Do you want to converse, have a conversation about the price? $738,360 freaking dollars. Almost a million dollars,” stressed Hernandez, of Leno – a city to the northwest of Nevada just a two-hour drive from California’s capital Sacramento.
“Then I decided to take a look through the itemised bill because they sent every single little thing that they charged for and I swear there’s things that they didn’t do and I swear there’s things that they’re overcharging for.
“For example, I noticed on the bill that there’s a little tiny bit of Aquaphor that they gave me that I actually still have – $25 for a tiny tube of Aquaphor that I thought the nurse was just giving me to be cute and give it for free. No ma’am!”
Before adding: “They made sure to charge for every little tiny thing, damn! Like that’s crazy.”
The TikTok video has since gone viral online and has been streamed a viewed more than three million times – with those overseas flabbergasted at the shocking price it cost Americans to have a baby if things don’t run smoothly.
@janiceheartss Having my viral moment DAYS before they take away my clock app 😩😩😩 #viral #medicalmama #pws #nicu #nicumama
In a follow-up video, Hernandez, who moved to Nevada from Brooklyn, New York, added: “Imagine if I didn’t have insurance. I’d have to pay all of this.
“Here in America, just to breathe costs money and so of course when you step foot into a hospital, they start charging you automatically.
“I just wish that America would get its healthcare system together.”
Fortunately, Hernandez was insured, so she didn’t have to pay all $738,360, but she would have still been left with a hefty bill.