Uninsured coronavirus patient hit with massive $34,000 hospital bill

An uninsured woman who recently underwent treatment for coronavirus has been hit with a hospital bill that totals more than $34,000.

Time Magazine reports that Danni Askini went to a Boston-area emergency room late last month after she started experiencing a headache, chest pains and shortness of breath.

After testing positive for COVID-19, Askini received treatment and was eventually discharged from the hospital. Upon returning home, however, she was stunned to receive a bill for $34,927.43.

“I was pretty sticker-shocked,” she says. “I personally don’t know anybody who has that kind of money.”

Askini was in between jobs when her illness struck, which was why she lacked any health insurance. Her massive hospital bill has forced her and her husband to hold off on a planned move to Washington, D.C., where she was set to start her new job. Additionally, she has tried applying for Medicaid to cover her bills, although there is no guarantee she'll be accepted into the program.

"Public health experts predict that tens of thousands and possibly millions of people across the United States will likely need to be hospitalized for COVID-19 in the foreseeable future," reports Time. "And Congress has yet to address the problem. On March 18, it passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which covers testing costs going forward, but it doesn’t do anything to address the cost of treatment."