Photo of a corona patient admitted to the intensive care unit of a US hospital = Yonhap News
[아시아경제 이주미 인턴기자] In the United States, a story that a patient with Corona 19 was charged for treatment of 1.5 billion won was reported through local media.
On the 8th (local time), the Los Angeles Times of the United States introduced the story of Patricia Mason, a 51-year-old woman who was charged $1339,000 for treatment (1.499.99 million won).
Mason, who visited the hospital in March of last year with symptoms of fever and cough, was taken to a large intensive care unit because his condition worsened.
After about a month of treatment, Mason’s bill for medical treatment included an amount that exceeded $1.3 million, including $479,000 for a coronary treatment room, $47,950 for medicine, and $166,000 for artificial ventilation.
Mason, who had heard that her husband had insurance at work and that insurance companies were exempting them from co-pays for corona treatment, thought that the actual treatment cost would not cost much.
However, Mason received a warning letter from a medical bill collection company in July of last year. Mason was charged 42,000 dollars (about 46.89 million won) of out-of-pocket expenses and the delivery date had passed.
My husband’s work insurance was designed not to receive full waiver of corona treatment costs, and because the treatment costs were so high, the self-pay increased.
Mason said in an interview with the media, “I was lucky and I was able to survive, but the reality is that I don’t have the money to pay for the treatment,” he said. “I don’t have the extra money of $42,000.”
The media said, “The probability of the Masons paying off the cost of the corona treatment is zero,” and said, “The corona can not only attack patients, but also rob their bank accounts.”
Reporter Lee Joo-mi [email protected]