Cruise Passenger Reveals Cost Of Medical Care After Getting Sick On The Boat
It's enough to pay for at least three more cruises.
Lopolo | Shutterstock A relaxing vacation at sea took a turn for one cruise passenger, who became sick mid-voyage. He sought out the ship's medical center, hoping they would be able to help him. However, he didn't expect to later be hit with a staggering medical bill that likely surpassed what he paid for the whole trip.
Domestic healthcare is bad enough, but when this passenger received his bill, he was so shocked by the charges that he posted the itemized receipt on Reddit.
A passenger shared an outrageous bill from the medical center on board a cruise ship.
The passenger posted on Reddit a photo of the medical invoice from the Norwegian Escape, a cruise ship owned and operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines. In the comments, the passenger explained that it was his brother-in-law who got sick and had to receive emergency care in the medical center on the ship.
Reddit
The itemized bill that he received after the incident totaled nearly $10,000 and included lab tests, observation, and various procedures. Some of the charges were pretty understandable, such as the doctor consult and IV treatments, but $219 just to be admitted and $274 for a COVID test? That's insane.
The passenger also shared that his brother-in-law was ultimately diagnosed with Lyme disease, which wasn't even discovered until he went to see a doctor in the United States upon leaving the cruise. It was likely overlooked as a possible cause of his illness and wasn't even tested for. All that money, and the cruise doctor couldn't even figure out the problem.
Commenters were shocked by the bill and empathized with the family.
The passenger and his family are (rightfully) frustrated. The passenger's wife, who is also the sister of the sick man, claimed, "It should be okay to get sick on a cruise." It's an unexpected event that could happen to literally anyone, and the man is facing a huge financial burden for something that was entirely out of his control.
Many emphasized the importance of travel insurance and how it would have saved this family a lot of money and undue stress. Another user said, "A large percentage of people get very sick on cruises. Same reason people get sick in the winter, only far, far worse. The real message is 'don't get sick without insurance.'"
However, one commenter voiced a bold truth. They wrote, "I'm not trying to make the claim that these prices are reasonable, but are they much different than a land-based ER visit in the States?"
This incident is a reflection of the current state of American healthcare, both on land and sea.
Healthcare costs have been steadily making treatment difficult for many Americans. According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, "The U.S. spends twice as much as comparable countries do on health, driven mostly by higher payments to hospitals and physicians."
Ground Picture | Shutterstock
In 2021, Americans spent an average of $12,197 per person on healthcare, compared to roughly $6,514 in other countries. The bulk of these costs was spent on inpatient and outpatient care, as doctor visits and hospital stays.
Dr. Atul Grover, executive director of the nonprofit AAMC Research and Action Institute, told USA Today, "We don’t consume a lot more health care than other countries. We just pay a lot more for each thing."
He added, "People are paying more out of pocket. And that’s certainly felt more severely for people at the middle- and low-income levels than for people who can afford great health insurance and can also afford to pay more of a share of their health care costs."
The moral of this story: invest in travel insurance, make sure you're healthy before a trip, and don't go away if you don't have health insurance.
Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.
