Boston victims face huge bills; donations pour in

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By LINDSEY TANNER

Cost of amputating a leg? At least $20,000. Cost of an artificial leg? More than $50,000 for the most high-tech models. Cost of an amputee's rehab? Often tens of thousands of dollars more.

These are just a fraction of the medical expenses victims of the Boston Marathon bombing will face.

The mammoth price tag is probably not what patients are focusing on as they begin the long healing process. But friends and strangers are already setting up fundraisers and online crowd-funding sites, and a huge Boston city fund has already collected more than $23 million in individual and corporate donations.

No one knows yet if those donations - plus health insurance, hospital charity funds and other sources - will be enough to cover the bills. Few will even hazard a guess as to what the total medical bill will be for a tragedy that killed three people and wounded more than 270. At least 15 people lost limbs, and other wounds include head injuries and tissue torn apart by shrapnel.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130425/DA5SP3KO1.html

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Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. More than 200 were injured in the bombings and no one knows yet what the total medical costs will be. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

[msongs]

1. the nation as a whole devalues health care, fortunately some individuals do not nt

[BeyondGeography]

2. Informative...people are being generous but the long-term costs will be huge

Lost wages, lost careers (two who lost legs were roofers) and learning to function with new limbs, not to mention the accompanying emotional hardship for the victims and their families.

Rec'd.

[MrSlayer]

3. There shouldn't be any bills.

It should just be taken care of.

Universal health care, we need it.

[tblue]

13. Damn straight.

I've been thinking that since I heard there are all these funds are being set up for the victims.

[Posteritatis]

4. When you don't know if $23M is enough to cover 2-300 injuries costs are way, way too high. (nt)

[Doctor_J]

5. American exceptionalism

the only civilized nation where getting hurt can bankrupt a person.

[Grey]

7. I wouldn't call that "civilized". nt

[hoosierlib]

6. Nope, no need for unverisal healthcare...

sarcasm

[OnlinePoker]

8. As a Canadian (who doesn't know how it's even done here)...

...when money is donated to people or families for relief in situations like this (or fires, tornadoes, floods, etc.) is that money taxed as income?

[Tx4obama]

9. Boston hospitals and insurers will waive most medical bills for bombing victims

Boston Hospitals And Insurers Will Help Ease The Bombing Victims’ Medical Costs

The total medical costs resulting from last week’s Boston Marathon attack are expected to top $9 million — and that could be a conservative estimate, since the bombings’ injury toll has just been revised up to nearly 300 people. Fortunately, however, the city’s largest health providers are stepping up to ensure that the victims won’t suffer under the full weight of those mounting costs.

The Boston Globe reports that the largest health insurers in Massachusetts are planning to eliminate out-of-pocket fees for the bombing victims who are receiving treatment for their injuries, and three of the city’s hospitals are promising to delay billing those patients. Fortunately, health care providers plan to address ongoing treatment for long-term health issues as well as the initial emergency room care that victims received in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Tufts Health Plan — a Boston-based insurer whose corporate offices are actually located just blocks away from where the manhunt to capture the bombing suspects first began with a shoot-out on Friday morning — has announced that, in addition to waiving costs for physical treatment, it will also cover the cost of mental health care.

“The physical injuries are easier to determine, but the mental health component is important,” a Tufts spokeswoman told the Boston Globe. “Six months down the road, someone may have a hard time dealing with these issues.” The insurance company has already contacted over a thousand mental health providers to make sure they will be available to take on the extra caseload that may arise as bombing survivors cope with potential post-traumatic stress disorder.

-snip-

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/25/1919921/boston-hospitals-insurers/

[Nye Bevan]

10. Remember when the London bombing victims faced huge bills and appealed for donations?

Me neither.

[cynzke]

11. $23 Million

Couldn't some Wallstreet CEO give up their bonus for one year!

[Myrina]

12. I thought there was an article earlier this week that dr/hospitals etc were not going to charge

??

Will have to dig for link later - at work now.

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

15. Don't worry, the ACA is about to kick-in, hold on just a bit longer

[Daniel537]

16. Disgraceful.

What will it take to get universal health care in this country?

[Yavin4]

18. When we vote out the psychopaths in congress, both Dem and Repub

And vote in more progressives.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. We're #1 in fund raising and donations for medical cost for those who are uninsured or

under insured.


What a great country this is.