This week's outrageous price tag news comes out of Saskatchewan. As CTV News reports, Jennifer Huculak-Kimmel and took a vacation in Hawaii with her husband when she was six months pregnant. The couple took out travel medical insurance from Blue Cross and boarded the plane with their doctor's blessing.
Then Jennifer's water broke and she was committed to six weeks of bed rest to try to stave off an early labour for as long as possible. The couple's baby girl was ultimately born nine weeks early and spent her first two months in the intensive care unit of a Hawaiian hospital.
But perhaps the biggest shock came when the young family had returned home to Canada and received a medical bill for $950,000. I kid you not.
Couple Secretly Give Birth in Luxury Hotel
The Blue Cross, in their defense, is only doing what insurance companies do best. They're finding all and any reason to wriggle their way out of the claim. In this case, they're claiming that a bladder infection Jennifer had treated earlier in her pregnancy constitutes a pre-existing condition which means they don't have to pony up. They maintain this even though Jennifer's doctors have said the bladder infection didn't cause the early delivery.
So now the couple gets to decide whether they want to take on Blue Cross in a legal battle or declare bankruptcy. Fun! I hope at least one of those is on their bucket list.
I think the rest of us will be taking a good close look at our travel insurance the next time we leave the country. In fact, if you're pregnant, it's probably cheaper just to travel with your very own OB-Gyn on hand.
Image Source: WikiCommons
MummyBuzz is being written by Rebecca Cuneo Keenan this week. Rebecca is a Toronto-based writer, blogger, and #YMCCommunity member. She blogs at Playground Confidential where you can read in order to feel better about your own life. Or just follow her on Facebook or Twitter. It's shorter.
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