Nurse gives man a kit to remove his own stitches after he pays $1900 to get them done

Many people have been critical of the healthcare system in the United States because of the horrible experiences they have had in hospitals. One such person @_sam_goodwin shared on TikTok the recent experience that he had at the hospital. He started the video by saying, “You want to know how bad healthcare is in America? Here’s how bad it is.” Goodwin then said that he had gone to the hospital to get a few stitches done on his finger and was asked to wait two weeks to get the stitches taken out. He said, “In the meantime, I get billed. Before insurance for five stitches, $3800; after insurance, $1900 for a terrible hospital visit.”

“Fast forward, it’s time to get my stitches out. I schedule my appointment at the urgent care of the hospital, same company,” he added. When he reached the urgent care, they told him that they are not going to remove the stitches. They asked him to visit the hospital to get the stitches removed. Moreover, they said that it will be free at the hospital. Narrating what happened at the hospital, Goodwin continued, “I wait there for a while in the ER, and then I ask the nurse, ‘Hey, they turned me away at the urgent care so I came here so you guys will do it for free. Is that true?’” After the nurse checked with the billing department, she told him that he will have to pay to get the stitches removed. "So I said, ‘That really sucks because I paid $1900 to get it done after insurance.’ Then they said that is absolutely ridiculous.”

Goodwin informed her that he is not going to pay anything more to the hospital and that he is just going to go. To his surprise, the nurse gave him a kit to remove the stitches himself. He concluded, “So that’s a little story about the healthcare in America: $1900 will get you five stitches, and then the nurses have to go behind the hospital’s back to get you treated.” The video went viral with 5.7 million views and is captioned, “I hate American healthcare.” Many on the platform were upset about how expensive the five stitches were for Goodwin. User @nicotrincado commented, “It's literally cheaper to fly to a different country to get your stitches in and out,” while @yourlocaltaurus said, “it probably would’ve been cheaper to buy a plane ticket to Canada and get it done for free in one of the emergency departments up there.” Nurse @jeffpreston968 wrote, “As a nurse, I would have taken you back in a corner somewhere and taken them out for you. That’s a ridiculous amount to pay. It’s a mess 😩.”

Many also shared that healthcare in their countries is much cheaper. Australian resident, @meldinon commented, “I live in Australia and just got 5 stitches in my finger and it cost me $5 for the car parking.” Another user, @little_gray_ilama said, “I just got about 10 stitches a couple of weeks ago here in Germany and you know what I paid? 3€… for the parking ticket.” @karitravelstheworld commented, “In New Zealand here that would cost $ 0.00 even if you're a tourist. Land of the free you reckon 🤔” while @karitravelstheworld wrote, “I’m an American in Germany. Just had knee surgery and two nights in the hospital. After insurance, at the hospital, I only had to pay 30 euros! 😳”