As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, the US health care system is coming under more criticism than ever. Unlike most developed countries where healthcare is a universal right, and the state either provides healthcare directly or via subsidised insurance schemes, the US operates mostly on a system of private insurance.
One case highlighting the perceived inequities and insufficiency of the US healthcare system is that of Michael Flor, aged 70. Flor was hospitalised in Issaquah, Washington state, after contracting CoVid-19 and spent 62 days in the Swedish Medical Centre. What is most shocking is that he has now been presented with a bill of over $1 million.
The bill runs over 181 pages and has 3,000 itemised charges. Bear in mind that Mr. Flor was unconscious for 42 days of his stay, much of which was spent on a ventilator keeping him alive. He was so ill at one point that doctors strongly believed that he wouldn’t survive and was given a last phone call to his family – who could not visit him due to contamination fears.
The intensive care room Flor stayed in was charged at over $9,000 per day, meaning the stay alone in ICU came out at over $400,000. The ventilator that kept Flor alive was also charged at almost $3,000 per day, and the total cost of drugs amounted to around $250,000.
On first seeing the bill Flor said:
"I opened it and said ‘holy [bleep]!’"
He now says he feels somewhat guilty about surviving at such a cost:
"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."
It is believed that Medicaid insurance will take care of much of Flor’s bill and that it may actually be the case that he will not have to pay anything towards the cost of his treatment due to it being related to CoVid-19 – although this is far from certain.
While the cost may be taken up by insurers, the fact that private medical institutions are able to charge so much means that all insurance rate-payers are out of pocket. The US on average spends twice as much money on healthcare each year per head as any other developed nation but yet in many cases has far worse health outcomes. This means that not only are many US patients denied much of the treatment they need, but they are also forced to pay out far more in insurance than taxpayers pay out for universal healthcare in other countries.
Maybe coronavirus will be the jolt that is required to shake up the US healthcare system.
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