Woman billed almost $18,000 to find out she didn’t have cancer

It's no secret that healthcare in the US is extortionate, and now one woman has revealed that she was charged $18,000 to discover she didn't have cancer.

Dani Yuengling, then 35, from South Carolina, discovered a lump in her breast and, after initially putting it off, decided to have it investigated.

Alamy/Tutatama

After her mother died of breast cancer back in 2017, she had her reasons to be concerned, which is why she had a biopsy to confirm she had nothing to worry about.

Dani had medical insurance with a $6,000 deductible, but she expected it was a procedure that she'd have to personally pay for.

However, when she asked the Grand Strand Medical Center for the exact price, she said they couldn't give her an answer and that it depended on the biopsy.

The hospital had a payment estimator on its website, which told Dani that she could expect a cost of around $1,400 for the procedure.

"That's fine. No big deal," Yuengling told KHN, as reported by PEOPLE.

Alamy/Gina Kelly

But despite getting a modest estimate, Dani was shocked when she was eventually billed for the biopsy, which found no traces of cancer, and told she owed the hospital $17,979.

Her insurance took this price down to $8,424.14 - something she described as a 'negotiated rate'.

She was then able to get the price down again to $5,169.67.

People in the US with medical insurance are reportedly often charged more by hospitals under the expectation that the insurance will largely cover the cost.

In Dani's case, this meant the hospital was charging five times the price.

A representative for the hospital went on to say that there must have been a 'glitch' in the online calculator when confronted about Dani's modest estimate.

They explained that breast biopsies cost between $8,500 to $11,500, but this depends 'on the exact procedure and equipment used.'

Alamy/Sally Anderson

Dani was eventually given a discount by the hospital, but was still charged $3,306.29 out of pocket and had to pay off the sum using a credit card.

"I could not sleep. It was driving me crazy. I was having migraines. I was sick to my stomach," she said.

"I hate having debt. I didn't want to think about it. Obviously, that didn't work because I'm still thinking about it."

Tyla has reached out to Grand Strand Medical Center for comment.