Vacaville woman hospitalized with COVID-19 faces $1.3 million in medical bills

Los Angeles Times

4 years ago

Patricia Mason, 51, displays her medical bills at her home in Vacaville, Calif. Mason works more than full time across two jobs — office administrative work, which she can do from home, and retail, which she can’t.(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

It was bad enough that Patricia Mason’s husband rushed her to the emergency room on his birthday and didn’t see her again for nearly a month.

Patricia Mason was hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 28 to April 20 at NorthBay Medical Center. Her medical bill totaled $1,339,079, which her insurance mostly covered. But she still owes $42,184, and it’s gone to collections.(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

That she was transferred in the middle of the night to a different hospital, one that could better care for her deteriorating condition, and that her husband had no idea where she was or even how to find her.

That her doctor called him two days later to break the news. His wife, the physician said, had less than a 30% chance of surviving COVID-19.

Then the medical bills began to arrive. The grand total to save the 51-year-old woman’s life: $1,339,181.94.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.