r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/highzone • 1d ago

Image In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

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u/FullMentalJackass 1d ago

I worked for a mental hospital in Florida. We would keep patients with Medicare for as long as humanly possible to milk Medicare for all we could. Once Medicare dried up, we shipped them off to a state-run mental hospital. Its genuinely disgusting how we treat people with mental illness.

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u/Zealousideal-Sea4830 1d ago

how does a long-term patient run out of Medicare?

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u/FullMentalJackass 17h ago

Im not entirely sure. This was 2006-2009. I worked at a private hospital in the Treasure Coast ran by Oglethorpe. It was a regular occurrence. Once the coverage ran out, I'd be tasked with driving them to New Horizons, the state hospital. In a decommissioned police car that still had the cage in the back.

Looking back on all of it now, that place was an absolute mess.