Tyler Perry Helps an American Couple Stuck in Mexico with $16K Hospital Bill

The American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and director Tyler Perry helped an American couple who were stuck in a hospital in Mexico. This is not the first time that Tyler Perry played a good Samaritan.

The dream cruise of Stephen Johnson and his fiancee Tori Austin turned into a nightmare after Johnson was rushed to a private hospital in Mexico and was diagnosed with pancreatitis, diabetes, and kidney failure that required dialysis over a week ago.

In a report from NBC News, the hospital administrator of Centro Medico Americano said that Stephen Johnson was near death when he was rushed to the hospital. The administrator added that Johnson suffered a kidney failure and needed an immediate dialysis.

The hospital bill of Johnson climbed up to 14,000 dollaes after a series of laboraties and medical procedures such as endoscopy and dialysis. He was also in the intensive care unit for three days. Moreover, because of the hospital bill the couple did not expect that the Centro Medico Americano has a policy requiring all admitted patients to pay the bills before they will be released. This is true with most of the hospitals in Mexico.

The administrator of the hospital explained that they really need to require the patients to pay the hospital bill before leaving the hospital because they do not have a system to bill the patients after they are released. However, they tried to help the patients pay the bill through money transfer or credit cards if they do not have travel insurance.

Austin told NBC News that it was too late for them to know of the hospital's bill policy. And because of this, Austin and Johnson's sister created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Johnson, since their credit card is limited. Tyler saw the news report of the couple's problem and immediately sent 16,000 dollars, and even offered the couple to cover their travel expenses back to the US.

Austin also shared the experiences they had when at the hospital. She said that they were barred physically by the staff of the hospital and local police from leaving the hospital. She added that there was even a time where a hospital administrator physically forced them to go back inside the hospital building.

Johnson said in a separate statement that he thanked the hospital for saving his life but the hospital cannot hold him captive. Moreover, because of this issue the spokesperson of the Centro Medico Americano said that Johnson was held as a captive in the hospital, but was not allowed to leave the hospital because he was still too sick to travel.

Meanwhile, on the website of the U.S. State Department they warned U.S. citizens of an emergency hospitalization overseas. The website states that "Hospitals in Mexico generally require payment upfront for services rendered and will place holds on credit cards if a patient is admitted and some private U.S. insurance companies pay for medical care overseas, but usually on a reimbursable basis, meaning that you will need to pay first and request reimbursement later."

The State Department's Bureau of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that they are looking into the situation and that the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens travelling abroad is their top priority.

Fortunately, hours after the news , the representative of Tyler Perry told a news channel that he will cover the hospital bill of Johnson including the expenses needed to flight them back in the country.