Seattle man, 70, beats coronavirus -- then gets $1.1M hospital bill, report says

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Coronavirus nearly killed Michael Flor.

After he got out of the hospital following a 62-day stay, the bill he received nearly killed him too.

“I opened it and said, ‘Holy (expletive)!,” the Washington state resident recalled, according to the Seattle Times.

The 181-page bill came with a total charge of $1.1 million, the report said.

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Fortunately, because the 70-year-old man is covered by insurance, including Medicare, he will likely have to pay only a small portion of the tab.

In fact, because he suffered from the coronavirus, he might not have to pay anything at all, the Times reported.

Among the charges, according to the newspaper:

$408,912 – for 42 days in an intensive care unit (ICU) room that was special equipped as an isolation chamber because of the contagious nature of the virus.

$100,000 – for treatment as his heart, kidney and lungs all nearly failed during his stay.

$82,215 – for 29 days of ventilator use.

The prices, however, are typically far higher in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries, the Los Angeles Times noted last September.

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“I feel guilty about surviving,” Flor told the Seattle paper. “There’s a sense of ‘Why me? Why did I deserve all this?’ Looking at the incredible cost of it all definitely adds to that survivor’s guilt.”

“I feel guilty about surviving. There’s a sense of ‘Why me? Why did I deserve all this?’ Looking at the incredible cost of it all definitely adds to that survivor’s guilt.”

— Michael Flor, coronavirus survivor

Flor said much of the guilt stems from knowing that taxpayers and other insurance customers will contribute to the cost of keeping him alive.

“It was a million bucks to save my life, and of course I’d say that’s money well-spent,” he says. “But I also know I might be the only one saying that.”