Man says he paid a massive bill to have his wound stitched. Then he finds out how much taking them out would cost: ‘Might just remove them myself’

A TikTok video posted by Boys Being Goat (@boysbeinggoat) has gained hundreds of thousands of views. In the clip, a man films himself from inside a car while wearing a red hoodie and brown overalls. An on-screen banner at the start reads “AMERICAN HEALTHCARE COSTS ARE OUT OF CONTROL.”

The man said he cut his finger and went to a hospital, where he received five stitches. He stated that the bill for the visit came to $3,800 before insurance. After insurance, he said, the amount he owed was $1,900.

He explained that he had to wait two weeks before the stitches could come out. When the time arrived, he said he scheduled a suture removal appointment online at an urgent care facility associated with the same hospital company. Staff there reportedly refused to remove the stitches and told him he would need to return to the hospital because the original procedure had been done there.

Emergency room staff give the man a removal kit after he declines further payment

The man said he went to the hospital emergency room and waited for some time. Once inside, he asked a nurse whether the removal would be free since he had already paid for the original visit. The nurse said she would check with billing.

After checking, the nurse reportedly told him that billing required him to pay again for the removal. The man said he replied that he had already paid $1,800 after insurance for the five stitches and that he would not pay any more money to the hospital. He stated, “I think I might just remove them myself.”

Hospital staff appeared to agree that the amount already charged was high. The man said they took him off the triage list so it would be as if he had never been there and would not generate a new bill. He added that a staff member then handed him a packaged suture removal kit and told him not to tell anybody they had given it to him.

The man described the overall experience as an example of high healthcare costs. He said that $1,800 covered the five stitches and that nurses had to go behind the hospital’s back to help him avoid another charge. The video then shifts to a second man wearing a red collared shirt. Surprise charges are not limited to human patients, as one pet owner learned when he received a surprise $725 vet bill after an ear infection visit.

Some viewers responded to the video with their own accounts of medical costs. One commenter suggested an alternative approach to handling the stitches. They wrote, “Wrap your finger, get on a plane to europe, book a two week stay, get them removed, fly back. Probably cheaper than 1900 dollars.”

A different commenter shared a personal experience from outside the United States. They wrote, “I’m canadian, I injured myself in the US, I got 9 stitches. They sent a bill to my address in Canada for $11,000 LOL.”

One viewer asked a question about the broader situation. They wrote, “Is America great again yet? Just asking for a friend.” A self-described nurse also left a comment supporting the actions described. They wrote, “Nurse here, most of us agree with you. I would have given you the suture removal kit too.”