Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Axios
Axios
Health
Marisa Fernandez

TikTok takes on surprise medical bills

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

TikTok: It's for teens. It's for memes. And sometimes, it's for getting help with a surprise medical bill.

The state of play: The New York Times spotlights Shaunna Burns, who posts videos on the popular social-media app offering life advice and encouragement — including one on hospital billing that garnered thousands of replies about "how baffling the American health care system can be."


There are more authoritative resources out there — Burns' admonition to "Don't take an ambulance unless you are legit dying!" is understandable, but maybe not a maxim to live by.

  • But the simple fact that people are venting on TikTok about their billing surprises shows just how omnipresent frustration with the health care system is.
  • "I thought, 'What if people out there don’t know that they have the right to tell those people to screw off?'" Burns told NYT.

Go deeper:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.