Thank goodness for health insurance (don't come to the US without it!)

So as you may know, if you are a faithful blog reader, I came home to Florida when my dad was in hospital. He went in twice, first with a heart attack, and a few weeks later with congestive heart failure. He's doing well now, by the way. He still has to take lots of medicine and go to cardiac rehab, etc, but hopefully he's on the way to getting better.

So we recently got the hospital bill for the first stay. Just the first. Now, this lovely little bill includes just the hospital stuff, not the doctors. Would anyone like to take a guess at the amount? He was there for about 5 days, and had a stent and pacemaker put in, in addition to all the bells and whistles of medicine, blood tests, etc.

Any guesses? $10K? Nope. $65K? Nope. $85K? Nope.
The total amount was $144,851.30.
Yes, that is ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
I have mentioned that this does not include doctors' fees, right?
Let's see if I can provide you with a little bit of a breakdown:
Pacemaker - $22,000
Emergency Room - $2901
Cardiac Cath Lab - $34,308.50
EKG/ECGs - $4772.50
Room Charges $12,900 (I hope it came with champagne and strawberries!)
Drugs - $1626.25
Sterile Supply $8,877.50 (you didn't know that gauze has gone up to $2000 per box did you?)
There's plenty more, but that just gives you a little idea. And remember this does not include doctors' fees, etc. And this is only for the first visit. We still have yet to receive a bill for the second hospital stay.

So all I have to say is thank goodness for health insurance. Honestly, what would my parents do if they didn't have insurance? I guess the same thing that millions of Americans do, sell everything and/or declare bankruptcy. So long story short, don't live in or visit the US without health insurance. And can we please try to pass some bills and elect some lawmakers that lead us to something resembling universal health care!

And as a side-note, can I please mention again that I heart travel insurance. In FIVE business days, my travel insurance company has reimbursed me for my flight to get home while my dad was in the hospital.