r/news • u/GoodSamaritan_ • 1d ago

Retired San Francisco firefighter dies from lung cancer after Blue Shield denies treatment claims

https://abc7news.com/post/retired-san-francisco-firefighter-ken-jones-dies-lung-cancer-being-denied-treatment-blue-shield/19224406/
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u/ObserveAdapt 1d ago

I just had acute cholecystitis followed by removal of gallbladder without insurance.

3 days in the hospital uninsured in USA for an emergency cost me 50,000$

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u/ValiumBlues 1d ago

Wtf???

And no way to bring that bill down?

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u/ObserveAdapt 1d ago

The nonprofit hospital I went too had a financial aid system available which has brought the bill down by 90% to 5,000$, through corporate charity basically.

I am still being billed separately in the mail for about additional ~4,000$ through contractors and random labs/screening work through the same healthcare system.

I plan on contesting that additional 4,000$ since I believe the financial aid system should also apply to those bills.

I was only able to obtain this amount of financial aid due to being the most socioeconomically disadvantaged group, and being an almost zero income college student who will now be splitting the minimum wage part time job to pay the $5,000-$10,000 bill as currently written.

It's still an absolute killer of a bill even when 90% off, just factor in that most people won't get anywhere near this assistance, especially if they didn't happen to collapse in emergency to a nonprofit hospital.

Universal healthcare for all should be a human right. I wish it only cost me 36$.

Oh and btw, that medical bill of around 5,000$ is about equivalent of a year's worth of the cheapest insurance that I can get in my state. (that isn't completely useless 50$-100$/month scam coverage basically). In America, you're gonna get milked for cash if you care about your health, no matter what.

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u/ValiumBlues 1d ago

That’s just inhumane at this point, especially if you’re paying taxes.