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Hospital reportedly billed family $18,000 to treat baby with bottle, nap

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A family says a bottle of formula and a nap cost them $18,000 after their son was treated at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

The family was visiting from South Korea in 2016 when their infant son fell off a hotel bed and hit his head, according to Vox.

There was no blood, but the baby wouldn’t stop crying, according to the report.

Worried he might have an injury they couldn’t see, his parents called 911.

Doctors quickly determined that the baby was fine, just a little bruising on his nose and forehead.

His mom says he took a short nap in her arms, drank some infant formula, and was discharged a few hours later with a clean bill of health.

The family continued their vacation, and the incident was quickly forgotten.

Two years later, a bill arrived at the family’s home: they owned the hospital $18,836 for the 3 hour and 22 minute visit, according to the report.

The bulk of the bill was a $15,666 fee labeled “trauma activation,” which sometimes is known as “a trauma response fee.”

According to the report, a trauma fee is the price a trauma center charges when it activates and assembles a team of medical professionals that can meet a patient with potentially serious injuries in the ER.

San Francisco General spokesperson Brent Andrew defended the hospital’s fee.

“We are the trauma center for a very large, very densely populated area. We deal with so many traumas in this city — car accidents, mass shootings, multiple vehicle collisions,” Andrew said. “It’s expensive to prepare for that.”