Pregnant woman walks to hospital while in labor because ambulance is too expensive

In a damning indictment of the US healthcare system, a pregnant woman chose to walk to the hospital while in labor so she wouldn't have to shell out $2,000 for calling an ambulance. The video of the pregnant woman walking was posted on TikTok where it went viral, garnering more than 7.4m views and 1.5m likes. The video was filmed by @kelskiller's partner and shows her walking in the dead of the night. Husband Andrew can be heard asking, “Babe what are we doing right now?” She responds, “Well, our car broke down half a mile from the hospital, so we’re walking because it costs $2000 to order an ambulance,” she replies, reported God.DailyDot.

“So I’m in labor, just walking to the hospital. F—k it.” The video then cuts to a later time when she's still walking in the darkness and still in pain. “My legs are soaking wet. It’s cold,” she says. The car reportedly broke down after Andrew forgot to fill gas but the couple was horrified that something seemingly simple as calling an ambulance was priced out because of the ridiculous costs in America. Most Americans realize they are being taken for a ride when they learn that many countries such as England do not charge at all for calling an ambulance. The TikTok-er included the hashtags #america #healthcaresystem #istrash with the post.

Thankfully, the couple made it to the hospital safe and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. While some blamed Andrew for being a bad husband by not filling gas in their car, many pointed the main issue was with the healthcare system. "She specifically said in a comment it wasn't the car they intended on using. Neither of them probably realized it was low on fuel," commented one person justifying them. Many called out the poor healthcare system in the country. "'They should have done this. They should have done that.'There is no reason emergency services shouldn't be available to her," wrote one TikTok-er. "How're y'all angrier at an honest mistake than an entire system? Also, the cost of labor is already extremely high with insurance too."

It's becoming increasingly common for people to share stories of US healthcare affecting their lives negatively and in many cases, driven to medical debt. It's getting to a point where even doctors are getting exasperated at the system. As we reported, the Board Director of the American Academy of Family Physicians recently posted a tweet that highlighted the issue. "I think I'm finally broken," wrote Andrew Carroll, MD. "Insurance company denied a CT Chest on a young woman with post-Coronavirus syndrome. And while describing why I wanted it, I broke down in tears. It's too much. We want to do the right thing, and stupid rules keep us from being effective for our patients." He also stated it was important to not get desensitized by the system. "Crying is human, and I accept it. I do not want to lose my humanity through all of this. Our patients need us to be strong guides through this horrible time, but they also need us to be compassionate humans with the heart and mind to help them through it," he wrote. 

A former nurse also ranted about the system in a TikTok video. "Patients are going into crippling debt. Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Yet, nobody is holding these hospitals accountable, and I am tired of it,” said Christy.