Longest-Hospitalized COVID-19 Survivor Faces $1.1 Million Bill

Michael Flor, 70, was admitted into a Swedish hospital on March 4. At the time of Michael's admission, there were 158 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, now the number has sadly climbed to 2.1 million.

At the time of his discharge, he was dubbed "the miracle child" by the hospital staff. Thanks to exorbitant healthcare costs of the US, he has earned another nickname: "the million-dollar baby".

The severity of COVID-19

After he woke up from a coma, he was infuriated by the discussions about the virus's existence, arguing whether it was a "real thing" or not. He told the press “I’m back from the dead, and I can tell you... This will kick your butt.”

The cost of survival

Around the beginning of their stay, before he slipped into a coma, spouse Elisa Del Rosario remembers Michael pleading her to take him somewhere else as they wouldn't be able to afford this.

For each day he was isolated in a sealed room, which can only be accessed by staff wearing isolation-gear resembling a hazmat suit, they charged $9,736. So, after a 42-day period of isolation, the total sum of this service was $408,912.

He was also put on a mechanical ventilator for 29-days and was charged $2,835 for each day. That adds up to $82,215.

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The doctors utilized every bit of medical knowledge to keep him alive during the 2-day-phase where he was going through multiple organ failure. Billing for these two days takes up 20 pages and the cost is almost $100,000. In its entirety, the bill contained 3,000 individual charges.

Silver lining

Thankfully, Flor is not expected to pay much of it, if at all. This is largely due to their Medicare insurance and Congress aid. It should be mentioned that in an effort to encourage people to seek treatment and diagnosis, the Congress has put aside $100 billion. Estimates claim that the cost of COVID-19 could reach $500 billion and various groups are pushing Congress to up their support.