‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Meredith Puts Her Job at Risk to Help Immigrant Family

Meredith Grey has made reckless decisions in the past but choosing to lie for a family seeking asylum at the hospital could cause the doctor her accomplished career.

While the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, titled “What I Did For Love,” focused on Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and the other doctors’ efforts to save Station 19‘s chief Ripley (Brett Tucker), Meredith’s kind heart could lead to major consequences for herself and the hospital.

Alex (Justin Chambers) and Andrew (Giacomo Gianniotti) first encountered the case after a little girl and her father came into the E.R. looking for treatment for her persistent pain. The father reveals he arrived in the U.S. a year before to get settled before sending for his family, but they were detained, separated at the border and his daughter was left in a cage.

“My wife, my little Danny… still there.,” he said. When Andrew asked if the girl had gotten medical treatment, but he said she was only given antacid for her pain.

Alex calls Meredith to consult, as the man admitted he had no insurance. Alex clarifies the state of Washington takes care of kids no matter what.

Later, Meredith finds that the girl has a blockage that needs to be treated immediately with surgery. Her father, however, worries he cannot afford the surgery and thinks the smart thing would be to wait for him to get a policy in place. The doctors provide information for him to apply to special grants to ensure financing in cases like this for families seeking asylum.

As the doctors perform more tests, Meredith opens up to Alex about sympathizing for the man after being separated from his daughter for three months. DeLuca then enters the room with the news that the family doesn’t qualify for the grant because he apparently “makes too much money” with his office-cleaning job.

The situation becomes direr when Meredith finds a serious mass in the girl’s body. Without the insurance, however, the father says he doesn’t see how he can save his daughter’s life. At that moment, Meredith tells him the doctors will take care of everything and they will cover the cost.

In order to perform the surgery, Meredith lies and claims the surgery on her insurance, writing it was done for her daughter Ellis. Richard reprimands her for committing insurance fraud, but Meredith doubles down saying she is not going to let a broken system ruin this family’s life.

During surgery, Meredith finds the little girl has cancer and will need years of treatment, making her insurance situation much more dire, as well as the doctor’s legal situation. Richard then asks Meredith to meet him at his office afterward.

Richard yells at Meredith at first but eventually helps Meredith come up with a loophole to secure insurance for the little girl, that won’t land the doctor in prison.

Do you agree with Meredith’s actions? Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.