Talk about adding insult to injury.<\/p>\n
A Virginia woman in the throes of a life-threatening allergic reaction was told to cough up hundreds of dollars before a nurse would administer an EpiPen. <\/p>\n
\u201cI asked, \u2018If I didn\u2019t have the money, would you have just let me die?\u2019 \u201d Stephanie Rowell recalled in an interview with KFF Health News<\/a>. \u201cAnd they said, sorry, that is their policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephanie Rowell (above) was asked to pay up front before workers at an urgent care facility would administer a dose of epinephrine. Eric Harkleroad\/KFF Health News<\/p>\n Like millions of Americans, Rowell, a manager at an agritourism business, doesn\u2019t have health insurance. <\/p>\n The 53-year-old has been without coverage since 2025, when she said she could no longer afford to buy a policy on her own.<\/p>\n The harsh reality of going without protection hit home in July, when a wasp sting<\/a> at her parents\u2019 house triggered a terrifying cascade of symptoms. <\/p>\n Suddenly, Rowell\u2019s arm felt like it was \u201con fire.\u201d Her body began to itch profusely while her face swelled and turned red. <\/p>\n She popped a Benadryl and jumped in the car with her father, heading for the nearest emergency room, about 25 minutes away.<\/p>\n But just 10 minutes into the drive, her throat began to tighten. Realizing she couldn\u2019t wait, the pair pulled into a nearby TruHealthNow<\/a> urgent care center in hopes of getting her treated faster.<\/p>\n A wasp sting can trigger a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis in some people. kozorog \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Once inside, she told staff she didn\u2019t have health insurance. A nurse practitioner examined her and diagnosed her with anaphylaxis. <\/p>\n The severe, potentially deadly reaction can set in within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen, according to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n When it happens, the immune system unleashes a flood of chemicals that can cause blood pressure to plummet and airways to swell, making it difficult \u2014 or even impossible \u2014 to breathe.<\/p>\n The condition is considered a medical emergency that requires an immediate injection of epinephrine, the medication used in EpiPens, to counteract the reaction<\/a> and help restore normal breathing.<\/p>\n An estimated 1 to 5 in every 100 Americans have experienced anaphylaxis, which claims about 225 lives each year, according to the Allergy & Asthma Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n But even after Rowell was diagnosed, she said a medical assistant asked her to pay $400 before the clinic would give her the potentially lifesaving injection.<\/p>\n Stunned, she went to the waiting area to grab her debit card. After receiving the shot, she said, her throat began to loosen and her symptoms quickly eased.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d Rowell said.<\/p>\n EpiPens deliver a single dose of the fast-acting medicine epinephrine, which relaxes airways, tightens blood vessels and opens up the lungs. Eric Harkleroad\/KFF Health News<\/p>\n Officials at TruHealthNow, which privately owns and operates eight urgent care centers in Northern Virginia and Maryland, confirmed to KFF Health News that Rowell was asked to pay before staff administered the EpiPen.<\/p>\n But the company\u2019s CEO, Preet Takhar, told the outlet that its policy is to \u201cgive the shot and worry about the money later.\u201d<\/p>\n The company maintained that staff had first determined Rowell\u2019s condition was stable and that the payment request came while the injection was being prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cThe patient was stable, and that is why we took the payment then,\u201d Manbir Takhar, who is married to Preet Takhar, told KFF Health News, denying that the request for payment delayed Rowell\u2019s treatment.<\/p>\n Federal law generally requires hospital emergency departments to stabilize patients regardless of their ability to pay, but that protection doesn\u2019t necessarily extend to urgent care clinics.<\/p>\n Most aren\u2019t covered by the law unless they\u2019re hospital-owned, according to Barry Furrow<\/a>, director of the health law program at Drexel University in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n And while urgent care centers offer a range of medical services, they\u2019re not designed to handle life-threatening emergencies \u2014 even though patients sometimes turn to them in a crisis. <\/p>\n Urgent care facilities often aren\u2019t covered by a federal law that requires hospital emergency departments to stabilize patients even if they can\u2019t pay. R Scott James \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n After receiving the injection, Rowell was monitored by a medical assistant for about 30 minutes before being sent home. Her brother stayed with her to watch for any complications.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt wiped out,\u201d she said, noting that it took several days before she felt completely better.<\/p>\n The frightening ordeal ultimately cost Rowell $605: $400 for the medication, a $40 administration fee and $165 for the urgent care visit.<\/p>\n She said she wasn\u2019t upset about the price itself, but believed she should never have been asked to pay before receiving the epinephrine. She now carries an EpiPen of her own.<\/p>\n News about Rowell\u2019s experience comes as millions of Americans face growing uncertainty over their ability to afford health care. <\/p>\n The number of uninsured working-age adults in the US climbed to 11.2% this year, up from 8.9% in 2024, according to an October analysis by the Commonwealth Fund<\/a>, a health policy and philanthropic nonprofit.<\/p>\n