$1 million hospital bill hits Canadian mother, story goes viral. The million dollar medical bill leaves the new mom in a lengthy fight with her insurance company. In 2013, while on vacation in Hawaii, Jennifer Huculak, who was six months pregnant, was forced to be on bed rest for six weeks before eventually giving birth to a baby girl. The mother was left with a medical bill nearing one million dollars that Blue Cross insurance has refused to pay.
$1 million hospital bill for Canadian mom is sparking an intense debate about the US health care system. Canadian mother’s million dollar medical bill after her daughter’s birth is causing some serious headache. In October of 2013, Jennifer Huculak and her husband decided to go on vacation in Hawaii, according to the Inquisitr.
The Canadian woman, who was six months pregnant, was given the green light for the trip by her doctor. Less than 48 hours after landing in the tropical paradise, Huculak’s water broke and she was rushed to a hospital.
Doctors ordered the Canadian woman to spend the next six weeks on bed rest and when her baby girl was born nine weeks early, she was forced to spend another two months in intensive care.
Mother and daughter stayed a total of 14 weeks in the American hospital, which would explain why the medical bill came up to a total of $950,000. The new mother was stunned when Blue Cross insurance refused to pay the bill. Mrs Huculak told local media:
“It makes you sick to your stomach.Who can pay a million-dollar medical bill? Who can afford that?”
Blue Cross said that they are not covering the Canadian mother’s million dollar medical bill because she was being treated for a high-risk pregnancy. The company said in a statement:
“Ms. Huculak was diagnosed and treated for a high-risk pregnancy in the six months prior to departure. As Ms. Huculak is currently hospitalized and being treated for this high-risk pregnancy, any expenses incurred are not eligible under the terms of your policy.”
Huculak blasted Blue Cross saying that they are simply looking for a way to wiggle out of paying the bill. Huculak and her Canadian doctor have revealed that she did not have a high-risk pregnancy, she had a bladder infection, which led to bleeding. The health experts in Hawaii said:
“These things just happen. There’s nothing that causes them.”
Huculak added that she is very upset because Blue Cross failed to explain the preexisting condition rules when she was getting health coverage.
A Canadian mother’s million dollar medical bill, now has her contemplating bankruptcy.
What are your thoughts on the Canadian mom $1 million hospital bill story?
If she goes thru bankruptcy, then the hospital and doctors have to eat those costs…that’s not right. I think she ought to sue Blue Cross, and I think she ought to win…they are the ones that should be made to pay up…
If she were an illegal alien, the hospital would just ask the government for the money. Since she is a Canadian, white woman… well you see what happens!
Facing a similar case with Humana right now authorized a double mastectomy we incurred $800,0000.00 in charges (2013) and then they denied based on a clogged milk duct. When is a clogged milk duct of a nursing mother under 40 a Pre-existing condition. Here’s a concept lets go to a cash pay for services and do away with insurance and health care plans.
It’s too bad we have a separate czar for everything, more monitoring/spying than ever and more bans and regulations making this the biggest government ever assembled but they can’t, or won’t do anything to regulate the healthcare Industry. I long for a government that actually does something other than spend our money fighting others’ wars and argue with the other side about petty sh!t. We have a war here at home. It’s the People vs. Healthcare Industry. I don’t see this changing until the US mimics other parts of the world and start a revolution against our own government, on every level. Electing a new President, Senator, Congressman, etc. won’t do anything to break the cycle. All the candidates do is lie to get into office then they are puppets for big money contributors. It’s sickening. It needs to start and end with us.
first all insurance companies are thieves.they are run and managed by low life trash. I hope some trashy insurance executive reads this. because maybe he will think he can stop me from making honest statements trash like that have whores for wives.they are a bunch of thieving son-of-bitches.And our trashy government allows them to continue their thievery,becouse they are just like them.If the American people weren’t so gutless they could stop it.
If you haven’t noticed yet, our government is headed by a low life trash in an expensive suit.
that is just wrong! he gets his suits for free!
Brace yourselves, I worked for Humana for 5 years, they are not as elusive in paying for medical costs as Blue Shield, but this is just the beginning, Obama care has caused a financial upheaval among the insurers, they will pay for virtually nothing if they don’t have to, and DO NOT care about you or anyone else, so, take my advice, don’t pay these bills, don’t go to court, don’t negotiate with your health insurance company, THEY HAVE TO INSURE YOU, AND THE HOSPITAL HAS TO TREAT YOU!! They cannot force you to pay… let them go back to the congress/president and complain that they are going broke, not you./
Insurance companies are reactionary to costs they are required to pay for. That said, they are to be shamed for excluding anything,
this is the most powerful, advanced country in the world and we seem
to be able to take care of sh*t for other countries, How BOUT a LITTLE HELP at HOME? Ebola in Liberia, Deal with it you ignorant slobs. We seem to have billions for everybody except US (and in us or U.S.). Try helping at HOME FIRST, the rest of the F*ckin world
should be a DISTANT SECOND!
Brace yourselves, I worked for Humana for 5 years, they are not as elusive in paying for medical costs as Blue Shield, but this is just the beginning, Obama care has caused a financial upheaval among the insurers, they will pay for virtually nothing if they don’t have to, and DO NOT care about you or anyone else, so, take my advice, don’t pay these bills, don’t go to court, don’t negotiate with your health insurance company, THEY HAVE TO INSURE YOU, AND THE HOSPITAL HAS TO TREAT YOU!! They cannot force you to pay… let them go back to the congress/president and complain that they are going broke, not you./
This is absurd! $1,000,000.00 for 14 weeks comes out to over $10,204 a day! There is no reason for there to be a bill this expensive. Blue Cross is simply ruining a family’s life with outrageous illegal fees!
We now refer to this as being “grubered.”
$1 million; a person could buy the Big Island for a Million and get free lava, I know our son lives there. Our health care costs are ABSOLUTELY PREPOSTEROUS! Doctors et al have been living too HIGH on the HOG for TOO F**kin LONG.
Between Doctors and Accountants with tabulators we AMERICANS are being SCREWED by
our Medical Professionals. A good 50% devaluation of ALL MEDICAL expenses, costs ETC is deserved.
If you are a DOCTOR for the MONEY (a lot are) get OUT NOW and don’t let the door hit you in the A*S!
You need to remember that doctors go to school for about 10 years or so in this country. 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school and then usually a couple years of specialization. Some go more, some a little less, but 10 years is a good guess. That means that they have NO income until they are about 32 years old in many cases, and have a huge student loan to pay off.
You don’t think they deserve to be paid well? You want someone that has less training than that to be able to make life and death decisions on you? There needs to be money in the payoff for them to do that level of training / schooling. It is a huge commitment, and it is a good payoff in the end.
Your comment is not well thought out.
I can’t do math – 28 years old before income happens…
I agree with you. I stopped complaining about doctor bills in 1979 when I overheard 2 Doctors talking, then spoke to one of them. His malpractice insurance premium was going up 11% in 1980 from $90,000 annually to $100,000. Yes, a $100,000 PREMIUM in 1979. Their rates don’t look so good now do they?
You know it’s sad to see the US Gov’t wants to keep taking money from ppl when they are getting no where to recovering this country, and even worst, they dont regulate the healthcare companies on what should be deemed reasonable healthcare prices. you pay for insurance, they should pay all the medical cost, 1 million dollar medical bill? I wouldn’t pay it, id tell blue cross to shove up their ass, being where the us is now, no one can afford health insurance, and obama wants to make a healthcare bill under his name that virtually covers nothing, then the insurance wants to scam ppl over on paying insurance when most Americans, don’t even go to the doctor maybe once or twice a year(i understand there are other ppl that go more then that) if the country doesn’t straighten up in the next 5 – 10 years, health insurance will be through the roof, we should be like British territories, having free healthcare and the Gov’t pay for everything since there taking taxes and insurance so much out of every hard workers paycheck, they should have enough money to pay for healthcare… like i said, insurance is damned if you do, and damned if you don’t… makes me sick to my stomach ppl are just so damn greedy in this world, that’s ok, it will come back to bite the us gov’t in the ass one day..
Let’s not be so damn quick to blame the medical field or the insurance provider. It is ridiculous to spend almost one million dollars to save the life of one premature baby. This woman had her water break and the doctor should have told her she was going to lose the baby. They could have induced labor and in two days she would have been on her way. This heroic mentality to save every human life regardless of cost is why medical insurance is so expensive. Had they asked the woman if she had a million dollars to save the baby the answer probably would be no. Why do you expect an insurance company to spend that million dollars. We need a little more common sense in our medical practices. If a 70 year old has a heart transpant and two years later he needs another transplant, should he be given another transplant. Stop the heroics and bring some commonsense into the medical profession. Some people become ill and their medicine cost approach $7,000 per month. Nonsense. Is that life worth $84,000 per year. We need medical plans with limits on what is to be spent. When cost become too high, people are humanely permitted to die.
Please know, as an employee of the US Hospital System for over 25 years and a former medical bill reviewer, it is common knowledge here in the US that ALL hospitals OVERCHARGE by at LEAST… fifty percent(50%).
Please… it’s truly nothing new and has been the standard of practice for over 20 plus years. How else can you explain how a US Orthopedic Surgeon can make 5-10 million dollars a year and the CEO of a hospital chain can make 30-50 million a year. Truly, if you don’t believe me, just visit the ACA (Accountable Care Act) website to review these outrageous salaries. Frankly, thanks to the ACA (Obamacare), we finally have some Transparency.
As for what I would do with a million dollar US hospital bill? No problem. Just request a complete copy of the itemized hospital charges and all of the corresponding medical records. Once received, just send it off to a bill review company and wait for their response. As is usually the case, the bill review company will reduce the unnecessary charges by 50-70% and provide legal justification to negotiate the actual charges. Mind you, it is far less expensive than retaining an attorney to do it for you.
Good luck and take care.
If GOP had their way, she would have same bill if she was a U.S. citizen. Thanks to Obamacare she wouldn’t get screwed here.