$1 Million Hospital Bill - A Canadian mother is protesting after an insurance company in Saskatchewan, Canda, denied her insurance after she unexpectedly went into labor while vacationing in the United States with her husband. She and her husband still haven't completed paying the almost $1 million hospital bill even after a year.
Jennifer Huculak and husband Darren Kimmel are both from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, reports Salon. Before the unprecedented $1 million hospital bill, the couple prepared for an October 2013 trip in Hawaii by buying travel health insurance while Huculak was 24 weeks pregnant.
Kimmel said his wife's doctor cleared her for travel even if she had been pregnant at the time. The couple bought a travel insurance package for their trip through Saskatchewan Blue Cross, supposedly making them prepared for the $1 million hospital bill. In Canada, health-care costs such as prenatal care, labor and delivery are all covered through universal health care provided by the federal government.
"Jennifer looked this lady in the eye and said, 'So I'm covered?' And this lady looked at her and said, 'Yes, you're covered. Have a good holiday.' And the holiday turned into a staycation," Kimmel told TODAY Parents.
The couple's vacation was unfortunately cut short after Huculak's water suddenly broke, according to a story published Tuesday in the Toronto Sun. She was airlifted from their vacation spot in Maui to a nearby hospital in Honolulu.
Not knowing that events would lead to a $1 million hospital bill, the Canadian mother was forced to spend six weeks on hospital bed rest before she was able to give birth to a premature baby girl on Dec. 10. Huculak gave birth to the girl, which they named Reece, through an emergency C-section.
Because the baby girl was premature, they had to spend two months in the neonatal intensive care unit before being able to go back to Canada in February, according to Today.
Unfortunately, all that hospital stay didn't come cheap as the total cost of all their expenses inside the hospital led to a $1 million hospital bill. The final medical bill for the birth is $950,000.
Apparently, after getting the $1 million hospital bill from the Honolulu hospital, Saskatchewan Blue Cross, the Canadian insurance company, denied the claim, citing a pre-existing condition that deemed her a high-risk pregnancy, reports Yahoo.
"Blue Cross said that because I had a bladder infection at four months and hemorrhaged, because of that, they would not cover the pregnancy," Huculak-Kimmel told CBC in an interview about the shocking $1 million hospital bill. "We thought we had done everything right. We thought we had covered all avenues and we thought we were covered. We thought we were safe to go."
Huculak's doctor in Canada and the doctors who treated Huculak in Honolulu claimed that the pregnancy was healthy and that the bladder infection wouldn't have caused her water to break. Huculak's doctor also wrote a letter to the company stating such fact, but despite the effort, the claim was still denied by the insurance company.
Referred to as "Blue Cross" in Canadian media coverage, the company involved in the case of the $1 million hospital bill is said to be Saskatchewan Blue Cross by Blue Cross Blue Shield, a different insurance company. Blue Cross Blue Shield told Yahoo Parenting that it is not involved in this case of the $1 million hospital bill in any way.
"We were mortified," husband Kimmel told TODAY Parents of their reaction upon finding out about the $1 million hospital bill.
After learning that the almost $1 million hospital bill would not be covered, the couple reportedly tried to return to Canada. However, doctors told them that it would be unsafe for both the mother and the baby. The couple was then forced to shell out about $30,000 on car and apartment rentals.
Kimmel said that his wife remained stuck in Hawaii since there was no way for them to travel back to their home in Canada while she was on bed rest.
"Had we taken the chance to fly out on a commercial flight and something happened over the sea, there was a chance Jennifer could have passed and we'd have lost the baby," Kimmel said. "I'm positive it's not a chance anybody would ever be willing to take."
The Saskatchewan Blue Cross did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the case of the $1 million hospital bill. However, the company sent Canada AM a statement:
"We review each claim carefully and are confident that our decision to decline this claim was done in a considered manner based on the contract terms, the situation which resulted in this emergency medical claim, and a review of recent medical history."
According to Kimmel, when the family purchased the health insurance from Blue Cross of Saskatchewan, a representative assured them the birth would be covered, meaning the $1 million hospital bill would have been no problem.
"I think we did our due diligence. We answered the questions that we were asked when we purchased the policy; we answered them honestly," Kimmel told Canada AM. "We purchase insurance for these reasons, for when accidents happen. And then when they get denied it causes quite a problem."
But according to Huculak, if she had been a high-risk pregnancy and if she and her husband didn't have travel insurance, they wouldn't have gone on vacation.
Because of their plight of an almost $1 million hospital bill, the couple went public with their story, hoping that the insurance company will change their decision.
"Every day is an adventure here," Kimmel said. "We don't know what happens now."
Meanwhile, Kimmel said the Saskatchewan government and the state of Hawaii assisted them by paying for a portion of the bill. The province of Saskatchewan covered $20,000 for the birth which cost in an almost $1 million hospital bill.
The couple was also amazed by the public's reaction to their almost $1 million hospital bill story, with some reportedly even offering to donate money to help them. The family has received a large amount of donations, many of which have come from strangers.
However, about $900,000 still remains of their bill, with much already past due and some sent to collections.
"At this point, we're not really accepting anything from private people, that's not what we're looking for," Huculak also told news station CTV Saskatoon of their current situation with the $1 million hospital bill.
As of the current moment, the family is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy.
Denise Sikora, president of DL Health Claim Solutions, however said that bankruptcy is not the answer to their $1 million hospital bill problem.
"Unfortunately, it's very common for people to leave the country, have an emergency, and be hit with massive bills," Sikora told Yahoo Parenting. "Understanding your insurance can seem confusing, but never let fancy language or terms intimidate you from understanding your policy."
Sikora added that the family has a few options now.
"They should write a letter of appeal to their insurance company and include all the woman's medical records from before and during her pregnancy to prove that she didn't have a preexisting condition."
"Most hospitals are willing to negotiate bills," says Sikora. "The doctors have a choice - they can lower the cost or they can get paid nothing," Sikora also said.
Despite the couple's struggle with the $1 million hospital bill, their baby girl, Reece, is a happy and healthy almost one year after her delivery. She's "very healthy, she's a little rascal," Kimmel said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
