A Virginia woman seeking help for a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction said she was asked to pay $400 before receiving the medication she needed.
Here’s what to know
Stephanie Rowell, a 53-year-old agritourism business manager living in Round Hill, Virginia, developed itching, facial swelling, and throat tightness after a wasp sting in July, KFF Health News reported.
Hoping for faster care, Rowell and her father stopped at TruHealthNow in Purcellville, she said, rather than continue to the emergency room he was driving her to.
Rowell said her father retrieved her debit card after a medical assistant requested $400 upfront. The payment request followed a nurse practitioner’s diagnosis of anaphylaxis — a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction — and a recommendation that she receive epinephrine…