The exorbitant cost of hospital bills for COVID-19 is giving a panic attack to the patients. They usually find themselves in a dilemma about whether to suffer from illness or fight it by paying huge bills. They are worried that hospital bills will make them financially unstable.
A 70-year-old man in Seattle, Washington, experienced the same problems. He was handed over a bill of $1.1 million (Whaaaaaaattt???). The bill was 181 pages long. Michael Flor had a two-month-long crucial stay at the hospital. He went through a serious illness and was admitted for 62 days. Doctors had declared it as a deadly case but luckily he recovered. While leaving the hospital, the staff cheered up for his determination.
Seattle #coronavirus survivor given $1.1 million hospital bill with over 180 pages of charges.
Story: https://t.co/uA6XTL3Srv pic.twitter.com/Klw5ptaMI3
— Complex (@Complex) June 13, 2020
Flor’s COVID-19 Treatment Cost Breakup
When Flor looked at his bill, he was taken aback. His treatment had cost him $1,122,501.04. He said’ ” I feel guilty about surviving. There’s a sense of ‘why me?’ Why did I deserve all this?” Looking at the incredible cost of it all definitely adds to that survivor’s guilt.
Flor had spent 29 days on a ventilator. At a certain point, Michael’s heart, kidneys, and lungs were failing. It was very hard to save him. The nurse started calling his loved ones to say his final goodbye.
His bill showed a day fee of $9.36 which was totaled as $408.912. Next, all the charges for drugs, ICU, and ventilator were added up. It’s a blow on the face to receive such a huge bill after undergoing lifesaving treatments. Neither you can get rid of such a bill nor you can pay it.
25,000 new cases a day.
800 or 900 dead a day
A 9/11 every 3-4 days.
Hospital bills in the millions for #coronavirus stays.
Police that beat and kill protestors and black people.This government has completely failed in every way.
America needs to change. Can't come too soon.
— Josh Fox ✡️ 🤘 (@joshfoxfilm) June 15, 2020
But Flor doesn’t have to pay the majority of the bill because he had Medicare. Though he has to pay a little of the bill from his own pocket because the government has set aside some money to help hospitals and Insurance companies.
https://twitter.com/jrupprecht_mn/status/1271563271464792065
In fact, Americans have to pay a lot for their health insurance every month. They are completely surprised to find that their insurance doesn’t cover major treatments. The insurance companies are going to face a lot of arguments about the extensive bills.
In comparison to this, there are a lot of Americans who do not have health insurance. Especially the whopping cost of COVID-19 is hard to afford.
In light of this case, perhaps pandemic will help the country to improve its health care problems. Lastly, everyone deserves a low-cost lifesaving treatment. Otherwise, people find dying as a more easy option rather than being a financial burden on their families.
