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BeckyDem

(8,361 posts)
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 08:59 AM Mar 2020

Kept at the Hospital on Coronavirus Fears, Now Facing Large Medical Bills

Care was mandated by the government, but it’s not clear who has to pay.

By Sarah Kliff

March 2, 2020

Frank Wucinski and his 3-year-old daughter, Annabel, are among the dozens of Americans the government has flown back to the country from Wuhan, China, and put under quarantine to check for signs of coronavirus.

Now they are among what could become a growing number of families hit with surprise medical bills related to government-mandated actions.

Mr. Wucinski, a Pennsylvania native who has lived in China for years, accepted the U.S. government’s offer to evacuate from Wuhan with Annabel in early February as the new coronavirus spread. His wife, who is not an American citizen and remains in China, developed pneumonia that doctors think resulted from Covid-19, the disease caused by the respiratory virus. Her father, whom she helped care for, was infected and recently died.

The first stop for Mr. Wucinski and Annabel was a two-week quarantine at Marine Corps Station Miramar near San Diego. During that time, they had two mandatory stays in an isolation unit at a nearby children’s hospital. The first started upon arrival in the United States, and the second was a few days later, after an official heard Annabel coughing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/upshot/coronavirus-surprise-medical-bills.html



MEDICARE FOR ALL 2020

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beachbumbob

(9,263 posts)
1. another side effect of having the illiness, healthcare insurers will be going under if this
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 09:22 AM
Mar 2020

spreads far and wide. Medicare will see expense skyrocket as well. The party just starting I am afraid to say with the most incompetent people in charge and clueless public officials afraid to pull the trigger

BeckyDem

(8,361 posts)
2. Yes, that is what scares me too. All this uncertainty increased with an irresponsible man who only
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 09:26 AM
Mar 2020

cares about himself.

BeckyDem

(8,361 posts)
4. Good point. To me, his followers now have an opportunity to think about
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 09:35 AM
Mar 2020

how great a job he is doing. Maybe some will change their minds. Honestly, he should be impeached for stating the virus was a hoax. I have never in my life ever heard a U.S. president attempt such an insanely dangerous lie. He makes Cheney look like a saint.

abqtommy

(14,118 posts)
6. Perhaps the next stop for Mr. Wucinski should be to see a financial advisor or bandruptcy lawyer.
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 10:02 AM
Mar 2020

I suspect that this will become an important part of the overall COVID-19 discussion...

Hotler

(11,388 posts)
7. We should call our congress critters and put a bug in their ear about this.
Sat Mar 7, 2020, 12:04 PM
Mar 2020

If you are ordered into a forced quarantine by the government, a state, or any other government agency's you should not have pay one dime for the stay and treatment.

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