Callum Jones
A woman has taken to Reddit to share a shocking hospital bill for her mother who died earlier this year.
Healthcare in the US is extremely expensive, there's no doubt about that. It's why so many Americans have insurance in case of a medical emergency, but it's not always as simple as that.
One anonymous Redditor, who goes by the name of 'Pattyxpancakes', took to the website's 'healthcare' forum to reveal a hefty health bill.
The woman claims her mother died after doctors did CPR despite her 'do not resuscitate' wish.
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Such treatment, and everything else the woman's mother required during her time in hospital, has led to a mammoth bill of $275,000.
Yikes.
The woman explained: "I got an early Christmas gift from the hospital where my mom passed 10 months ago.
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"She aspirated while in the hospital for cancer treatment, they did CPR - no pulse and called to tell me she passed, she came back for a few hours but was unconscious of course, then passed again. (Fun fact - she had a DNR. They missed it).
She continued: "Since they sat on submitting it to her insurance, it was denied for no coverage.... because she was now deceased. Makes sense.
"So I got this nice little bill. Called the billing department to tell them to shove it. They ask if I want to pay the balance today. Then they tell me 'we'll' go to collections if not. I gave them her new forwarding address. The cemetery."
Many have flocked to the comments section of the viral Reddit post, with many left in shock at the bill.
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"Talk to a billing supervisor. Date of service would be while she was alive so if Medicare they can rebook," one person wrote.
They continued: "If Medicare advantage they likely filed past timely filing dates and there are usually clauses not allowing balance billing (outside of coinsurance or copayments) to the patient.
"Worst case it usually goes to her estate, which for a lot of senior Americans is near 0."
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A second person quipped: "I’m really sorry for your loss. This bill is an insult when it’s the absolute least thing you need. Hugs."
A third remarked: "This is f****d up on multiple levels, but how can they go to you for your Mom’s medical expenses? You are not married and your finances are separate. Not sure how you could be responsible for this bill."