Woman receives $5,751 ER bill—for an ice pack and a bandage

Enlarge / Wait, how much does that cost? (credit: Getty | BSIP)

A woman seeking treatment from a New Jersey hospital in October 2016 for an ear injury was charged $5,751 for her treatment-even though that treatment only consisted of an ice pack and a bandage, according to an ongoing investigation by Vox into hospital emergency room billing.

The woman, Jessica Pell, had fainted and hit her head on a table, slicing her ear in the process. She initially went to the emergency department at Hoboken University Medical Center to patch up the injury. But she decided to leave and get treatment elsewhere after she learned that the doctor who would see her there was out of network for her insurance plan and would therefore cost more than an in-network doctor.

"I decided to decline treatment because I can't really afford any surprise bills right now," she said. "The bill I'd probably incur would not be worth saving my ear, which was sad but a choice I had to make."

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