nucklehead Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/million-dollar-baby-canadians-handed-1m-bill-after-woman-gives-birth-in-u-s-1.2107020 A dream vacation has turned into a financial nightmare for one Saskatchewan couple, after a mom-to-be gave birth while on holiday in Hawaii. Jennifer Huculak and her husband have been saddled with a medical bill of nearly $1 million after she gave birth to her daughter in the U.S. Huculak was six months pregnant when she flew to Hawaii for a holiday with her husband in October 2013. Before her trip, she bought Blue Cross insurance and received approval from her doctor. But two days into her trip, Huculak's water broke and she spent the next six weeks on bed rest in a Hawaiian hospital. Her daughter was born nine weeks early and spent two months in intensive care. While she's grateful that her 11-month-old daughter is now healthy, Huculak and her husband were left with a $950,000 medical bill. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/million-dollar-baby-canadians-handed-1m-bill-after-woman-gives-birth-in-u-s-1.2107020#ixzz3JWkzo0PY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Standing_Tall#37 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 It must normally be $25,000 or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOgRook Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 ^why medical care for profit is a horrible idea . That poor family... My wife and I nearly had the same thing when we were enjoying the 4th celebrations.. 15 hours later (in canada) our first daughter was born at 26 weeks, Would have cost us upwards of 3+ mill as she spent over 3 months in the hospital.. Hope things work out for these folks. Stupid Amurica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 ^why medical care for profit is a horrible idea . That poor family... My wife and I nearly had the same thing when we were enjoying the 4th celebrations.. 15 hours later (in canada) our first daughter was born at 26 weeks, Would have cost us upwards of 3+ mill as she spent over 3 months in the hospital.. Hope things work out for these folks. Stupid Amurica. I read this days ago, and it's not so much the for profit system that makes US healthcare suck, it's the government mandated 3rd party insurance industry that not only drives up costs for everyone, including the government too, but still leaves many Americans in debt, or foregoing preventative care solely to focus on reactive care which is that much more expensive. The charities that cover a lot of medium and low income people who can't get on government plans would stretch further if it weren't for the mandated 3rd party involved. Ultimately, I see the US going universal at some point, but who knows when. There's no rational free market approach anymore. The US didn't have this issue until the government got in bed with the insurance industry. Unfortunately most people nowadays diagnose this as a problem with capitalism or profit, and like most things, fail to understand the government is the source of the problem here. Hence why the ignorant support Obamacare.. it is an illustrative problem of this insurance industry corporatism run amok. Apparently more Obama corporatism on this matter would be a good idea? Not even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 If she bought blue cross why aren't they on the hook for the mill? That's what insurance is for isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 If she bought blue cross why aren't they on the hook for the mill? That's what insurance is for isn't it? Thanks to cleverly crafted US and Canadian laws, which their lawyers and underwriters used to craft their coverage policies, they're off the hook. People have to be very careful what kind of insurance they get, especially with travelers insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
literaphile Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Easily preventable: Don't travel when you're heading into the final weeks of your pregnancy; and know exactly what your insurance will cover, and get the insurance company to give you quotes for various scenarios beforehand. Hard to have sympathy here. Put the travel plans on hold, Hawaii will still be there after the baby comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thanks to cleverly crafted US and Canadian laws, which their lawyers and underwriters used to craft their coverage policies, they're off the hook. People have to be very careful what kind of insurance they get, especially with travelers insurance. Fracken Insurance companies. I guess their business is finding ways not to pay. I used Coast Capital Insurance last time I went to Hawaii and went for the most expensive plan which worked out to like 7 dollars a day or something. I ended up fracturing my elbow and then getting a bill from the Hawaiian hospital for $5600. They charged me $800 for the one dose of Tylenol they gave me at the hospital LOL I forward the bill to the insurance company and they paid it right away. But I guess $5600 is a big difference to a Million. My bill probably was just cheaper for them to pay then to pay someone to find a way out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aladeen Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Easily preventable: Don't travel when you're heading into the final weeks of your pregnancy; and know exactly what your insurance will cover, and get the insurance company to give you quotes for various scenarios beforehand. Hard to have sympathy here. Put the travel plans on hold, Hawaii will still be there after the baby comes out. Lol did you even read the article? she was 6 months pregnant, not exactly the final weeks of pregnancy as another full trimester is still expected. Not to mention she did get approved by her doctor to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeydew Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Lol did you even read the article? she was 6 months pregnant, not exactly the final weeks of pregnancy as another full trimester is still expected. Not to mention she did get approved by her doctor to go. He didn't read the article. Went straight for conclusion I bet. /Thread. Pretty crappy how that happened... Always read fine print on insurance pretty sneaky for insurance companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Run away and never go back the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
literaphile Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 He didn't read the article. Went straight for conclusion I bet. /Thread. Pretty crappy how that happened... Always read fine print on insurance pretty sneaky for insurance companies. Of course I read the article. I just don't have sympathy for her. One of my daughters was born 5 weeks early. Babies are born early all the time. When you're heading into the final trimester, you need to be very careful and know that the baby could pop out at any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Fracken Insurance companies. I guess their business is finding ways not to pay. I used Coast Capital Insurance last time I went to Hawaii and went for the most expensive plan which worked out to like 7 dollars a day or something. I ended up fracturing my elbow and then getting a bill from the Hawaiian hospital for $5600. They charged me $800 for the one dose of Tylenol they gave me at the hospital LOL I forward the bill to the insurance company and they paid it right away. But I guess $5600 is a big difference to a Million. My bill probably was just cheaper for them to pay then to pay someone to find a way out of it. Yeah, I've got an army of old bills, with insurance, that easily surpass $3,000, a couple over $10K, when I lived in the US, sitting in my filing cabinet. A number of times in the US, they'd just let me sit there and chill until I bugged someone about if I still needed to be there or if they had any more "tests" to run. Time = money, and they bill you up the ass even if you're just sitting there. Of course I read the article. I just don't have sympathy for her. One of my daughters was born 5 weeks early. Babies are born early all the time. When you're heading into the final trimester, you need to be very careful and know that the baby could pop out at any time. I agree with this too. There's already a risk of early delivery. I'd not want my wife traveling to Hawaii during her third trimester either. Since she's been in nursing school before, it was never necessary to tell her. Of course, they should read the fine print, but they should also expect to be covered. From the perspective of someone seeking insurance, they don't buy insurance expecting to get f***ed out of being covered. If anything, I hope news like this makes people either think twice about travelers insurance or be more vigilant at making sure they're covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
literaphile Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Of course, they should read the fine print, but they should also expect to be covered. From the perspective of someone seeking insurance, they don't buy insurance expecting to get f***ed out of being covered. If anything, I hope news like this makes people either think twice about travelers insurance or be more vigilant at making sure they're covered. But don't you think it would be reasonable to call the insurance company beforehand and say "hey, would I be covered if I gave birth during my vacation"? Insurance companies give this sort of advice all the time. At some point, you need to be responsible and do your own due diligence rather than assuming that you're covered for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 But don't you think it would be reasonable to call the insurance company beforehand and say "hey, would I be covered if I gave birth during my vacation"? Insurance companies give this sort of advice all the time. At some point, you need to be responsible and do your own due diligence rather than assuming that you're covered for everything. Do you honestly think you get anything BUT a plug to sign on? That they'll reveal the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Insurance companies are finding ways to NOT cover people after they sign on rather than covering people these days. I know that firsthand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
literaphile Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Do you honestly think you get anything BUT a plug to sign on? That they'll reveal the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Insurance companies are finding ways to NOT cover people rather than cover people these days. I know that firsthand. What I'm saying is that, if you call your insurer and say "hey, I'm heading to the states, will my insurance cover my costs if I happen to give birth?" is a reasonable thing to do. And yes I'm also saying that if you call them and ask them directly, they'll tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 But don't you think it would be reasonable to call the insurance company beforehand and say "hey, would I be covered if I gave birth during my vacation"? Insurance companies give this sort of advice all the time. At some point, you need to be responsible and do your own due diligence rather than assuming that you're covered for everything. That's exactly what I would do. Would be a good idea for people to empower themselves and make a good decision when it comes to US or travelers insurance. What I'm saying is that, if you call your insurer and say "hey, I'm heading to the states, will my insurance cover my costs if I happen to give birth?" is a reasonable thing to do. And yes I'm also saying that if you call them and ask them directly, they'll tell you. What they can't tell you, until you offer up the information, is your medical history and things that would disqualify you. That's the catch as well. And until they have information, all they will give you is general coverage info that may not apply to you. Unfortunately most people aren't vigilant with extracting information that's right for them, which I suspect is the case here. I'm just kind of wondering in the offhand, given some provinces are more friendly to covering US visits than others, what would happen if they sent their bill to their provincial government, especially with the doctor approval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 The thing is, they look for (and found) a loophole to deny coverage. They said she had a pre existing condition/high risk pregnancy....pretty sure they didn't mention that during the process of signing her on. There is a lack of disclosure in some businesses that doesn't have them give pertinent information because, well, you wouldn't secure their services. It would change things...doesn't mean it's fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ambien Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 The thing is, they look for (and found) a loophole to deny coverage. They said she had a pre existing condition/high risk pregnancy....pretty sure they didn't mention that during the process of signing her on. There is a lack of disclosure in some businesses that doesn't have them give pertinent information because, well, you wouldn't secure their services. It would change things...doesn't mean it's fair. Indeed, and vigilance on the customer's part, or flat out just people not getting insurance, might better ensure more forthcoming disclosure practices, especially in layman's terms. There's no requisite to get travelers insurance. From a moral perspective, it's right, from a financial standpoint, they can't and wouldn't deny this woman access to getting her child born if she had no insurance at all. Hell, illegal immigrants in the US regularly do this sort of thing without any qualms. What would they do though if she didn't pony up? Sue her in Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FramingDragon Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 What's there to do but waddle in Hawaii when you're six months pregnant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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