A Cuban woman who is 17 weeks pregnant shared on TikTok the economic impact of a visit to the emergency room in the United States: a bill of $2,400 for two hours of care, and the distress of not knowing if she can afford to go back to the hospital despite having a fever.
Yeni, who shares her life with her partner John on the account @yenisleidysolis, went to the emergency room due to dehydration and persistent vomiting, symptoms commonly seen in pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum. The treatment she received included intravenous fluids and an ultrasound to check on the baby's condition.
"I spent two hours in the emergency room, sir, just a couple of hours. They gave me an IV and did an ultrasound to check on the baby. They removed the IV and sent me home," she reported in the video.
The result was disappointing: "I hadn't even left the hospital door and I was vomiting again."
Although Yeni has health insurance —which covered a significant portion of the bill— she had to pay $950 out of pocket. "I was hit with a bill of $2,400, 2,400 for 2 hours and I left there just as I arrived," she said with evident frustration.
The dilemma worsened days later. With a fever and in the midst of her second trimester, her doctor advised her to return to the emergency room, but she refused. "I told him I wasn't going because if I go to the ER for the fever I have, they’re going to charge me $5,000 just for a minute I’m there because of a fever," she explained.
Yeni acknowledged the risk of ignoring medical advice: "It's dangerous for me because I’m pregnant, but can you imagine what I'm supposed to do? What am I going to do?"
His testimony highlights a reality faced by many immigrants in the U.S.: even with medical coverage, out-of-pocket expenses for emergencies can be staggering. A standard visit to an emergency room, according to the website CoveredUSA, costs between $1,000 and $2,700 without insurance, and can exceed $5,000 if additional tests or hospitalization are necessary.
It's not an isolated case. In August 2024, a Latina shared a bill of $1,288 for a visit to the emergency room; in November of the same year, another reacted to a hospital bill of $10,000; and in September 2024, a woman reported that the birth of her daughter cost $29,000 in total, although she paid just over $2,000 thanks to insurance.
For Cubans arriving in the U.S. under different immigration statuses, access to coverage varies: some qualify for Medicaid or subsidized plans, while others must pay for private insurance. Unpaid medical debt can also complicate future immigration processes, according to guidance for the Cuban community. For those who accumulate hospital bills they cannot pay, there are financial assistance programs and other alternatives that can help reduce or even eliminate certain medical debts.
Yeni closed her video with a phrase that captures the sentiment of thousands: "I know everything is expensive in this country, but hey, not like this. No way, I can't!"
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