H1N1 Families Face Financial Challenges

Update: Parents of Children Who Were Seriously Sick Tackle Massive Hospital Bills and Possible Insurance Caps

(CBS)  After six weeks in intensive care, Lateasha Howard has apparently beaten H1N1.

But Carolyn Howard has no idea what saving her daughter's life will cost.

"Are you expecting to see a big bill at the end?" asked CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

"Hopefully not," Howard said. "Praying and hoping that I don't see one."

Tony Estlinbaum's finally home. He fought H1N1 for a month in the same ICU, at Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City.

As a stress relief, his parents used to joke about the whopping expense.

"How much is this going to cost to be in the ICU for a month?" Hugh Estlinbaum asked.

"Hold your breath for three seconds, oh, there's $500," Lizzy Estlinbaum said.

More coverage of Tony and others at Children's Hospital:

A Child H1N1 Patient's Joyous Homecoming
Two H1N1 Kids Now Show "Miracle" Progress
Two H1N1 Patients, Two Different Outcomes

A machine called an ECMO is the big expense. It's a lifeline for the heart and lungs and requires two nurses in the room, around-the-clock.

"Staffing, training, equipment - very quickly you're going to be running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Cole Eslyn the CEO of OU Medical Center.

Lateasha Howard's hospital charges? $1.2 million - and rising.

Tony's bill? Almost $900,000.

And that's just the hospital.

"That doesn't include the doctors or nurses, or the CT or the plastic surgeons that came into the room," Hugh Estlinbaum said. "The list is long."

Hospitals usually negotiate much lower settlements. But unlike many insurance plans, the Estlinbaums have a lifetime cap on expenses: $1.5 million. Tony's hospital stay and continuing rehabilitation could top that.

"I don't know how we're going to do these medical bills," Hugh Estlinbaum said. "I have no idea."

Every insurance plan's lifetime cap varies. But in extreme H1N1 cases, with sky-high medical bills, a child who once had a severe flu might have trouble getting health insurance ever again.

"Their ability to purchase individual insurance in the open market is very limited, if not zero," said Dr. Peter Kongstvedt, a health insurance expert.

Carolyn Howard relies on Medicaid -- which will pay Lateasha's bills.

"You're better off having Medicaid than private insurance with that type of cap," Kongstvedt said.

Congress is now considering three major bills to overhaul American health care. All three would eliminate lifetime caps.

"I can't put a price tag on what he is worth," Lizzy Estlinbaum said. "There is no price tag on what he is worth."

So the Estlinbaums could soon face a new crisis. Not medical - financial.

[jokr8790]

If good health care legislation does not pass in Congress it will NOT be President Obama's fault. It will be our fault for not electing truly progressive candidates to back his agenda. As a candidate he recognized that single payer health care was the most effective way in terms of health results and cost for providing health care to the American people. Unfortunately, too many DINOS (Democrats in Name Only, i.e.
"blue dogs I think they call themselves) got into office, like Joe Lieberman. Conservatives only constituents are the wealthy and political powerful not the working people of the United States. You want decent legislation then elect progressive candidates.Good examples are Alan Grayson out of Florida or Barbara Boxer in California.

[Virgil-1]

Insurance companies are more of a blood sucking leech with
there hands in your pocket.When they are needed to pay the bill,
you have to take them to court.

[hungry1968-17]

by DaVicar8 October 30, 2009 9:58 AM EDT
"you think that the health care system in this country that takes BILLIONS and GIVES it to insurance companies, is better than using those BILLIONS on actual medical procedures FOR PEOPLE?"



Duh, Hungry...are you forgetting about the BILLIONS that the insurance companies PAY OUT to their customers for medical care?






Yeah great.

They take 37% of ALL MONEY MARKED FOR HEALTH CARE, and KEEP it for themselves.

The way I see it, if there's a trillion dollars for health care, $370 BILLION of it should not go to the Ponzi Scheme known as "insurance".

[jokr8790]

For the amount of money the health insurance industry and the chamber of commerce spent in trying to defeat the public option in health care they could have probably provided health insurance to every man, woman and child in the US w/o co-pays and deductibles.

[hungry1968-17]

"I don't know how we're going to do these medical bills," Hugh Estlinbaum said. "I have no idea."






You're going to have to follow the republicans plan: file bankruptcy, lose everything you own, and give up everything that you've worked so hard for, over the course of your entire life.

Why do republicans hate REAL AMERICANS so much?

[DaVicar8]

The Democrat plan is much better...get everything for free, and continue living your life on the public dole.

[hungry1968-17]

So Vic - you think that the health care system in this country that takes BILLIONS and GIVES it to insurance companies, is better than using those BILLIONS on actual medical procedures FOR PEOPLE?

[DaVicar8]

"you think that the health care system in this country that takes BILLIONS and GIVES it to insurance companies, is better than using those BILLIONS on actual medical procedures FOR PEOPLE?"



Duh, Hungry...are you forgetting about the BILLIONS that the insurance companies PAY OUT to their customers for medical care?

[DawnBroderick40]

The very concept of a lifetime cap is ridiculous. A child gets cancer and their lives are ruined with medical insurance? Whoever came up with that is an idiot. Although I'm very glad to live in a state that cannot deny you coverage or disallow a pre-existing medical condition, I can't imagine what other people go through who don't have that protection.

Insurance companies almost killed a child of mine once with their denials. There is no love lost between them and me. If these companies would insure people for preventative care and encourage wellness (some of them are starting to come around), like offering lower premiums for healthier people, things could get better. More than 10% overweight? Pay more. Smoke? Then you should pay more. Those who indulge in these dangerous behaviors will whine and moan about how unfair it is. No it's not. You cost us more and you should pay more. Just like car insurance. Have an accident? Pay more.

[jokr8790]

Boy I'm so glad we live in America and don't have a government run health system to take away our freedom to die in poverty. We should be proud of ourselves that we are so unique, not like them French people or Canadians who will never have that freedom and luxury of being Americans and giving our hard earned wages so insurance company CEOs can live in obscene luxury while ordinary working people can experience the thrill and freedom of going into bankruptcy.

[COLORADOGRANDMA]

PLEASE PRESIDENT OBAMA PAY ATTENTION!!!

[COLORADOGRANDMA]

I HOPE OUR PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS SEES THE VIDEOS AND THE STURGLE THE ESTLINBAUMS ARE FACING WITH A SICK CHILD AND BIG MEDICAL BILLS AND FUTURE INSUREANCE PROBLEMS. AND FUTURE HEALTH PROBLEMS. HUGH LOOKS LIKE HE HAS AGED 10 YEARS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. LIZ LOOKS TIRED. LIZ IS MY DAUGHTER AND HUGH MY SON-IN LAW TONY SAMANTHA AND ZAK MY GRANDCHILDREN.

[cattlekate1]

Thank you for your post, Grandma. I do wish your family well. Thank you CBS for covering this story. The story should include the stress the bills and EOB statements cause. I cannot imagine how it must be to walk to the mailbox and open each bill - and not knowing when they will stop.

Our system is so piece-meal and convoluted. Only the wealthiest, and the poorest on Medicaid, as well as seniors on Medicare, have the freedom to not worry about the bills and losing everything they have ever worked for when they or a loved one is sick.

[flires]

Obama's Katrina-

A few years ago we the United States experienced the devastation of Katrina where a few thousand people died. The democrats were all over FEMA and the Bush administration's so called failure for being late a few days in an area where people were told to evacuate.

Today, thousands continue to die because of the inability of the government to approve and distribute the N1H1 vaccine quickly enough, even tough the vaccine has already been developed. Where is the outrage now? Thousands are still dying and a lot more will die before this will be over. The media doesn't seem to care now that Obama is the president. Shouldn't this be Obama's "Katrina" failure?

[jwesel1]

Wow!! You're so desperate for a Katrina like event that you wish that people start dying.

[DaVicar8]

"Thousands are still dying and a lot more will die before this will be over."



Dying is usually a result of how sick one is, not how much insurance they have.

[nowhiningallowed]

Yeah in the Katrina example, the government had a few days of warning; and let's not forget about how Dem Nagin and the Dem governor did virtually nothing to help the people in NO. Obama and his illustrious HHS and HS buddies have had months to prepare for this and they've done nothing but give us false hopes and lies about the severity and the availability of the vaccine. More people are dying from swine flu and all because Obama and his buddies have done nothing. Then Obama declares a National Emergency while news reports are circulating that prisoners in jail and Gitmo and other countries will be getting vaccine that should only go to people in this country. Let the prisoners get the illness and die. If any in prisons get the vaccine, let it be limited to only the workers and law enforcement; suspend visitations to the inmates to further decrease the potential risk of contamination. Again, where is the outrage and condemnation over the way Obama and his buddies are handling this emergency? In 2004 when there was a shortage of flu vaccine, Bush was condemned for placing Americans in peril by the likes of Dem Senators Clinton and Kerry. The media bashed and trashed Bush, as did many other Dems. Oh, but no, we mustn't condemn, bash or trash Obama and his buddies. Hypocrits with conveniently short memories. People have every right to be angry with Obama and his buddies for botching this emergency. They are responsible for the deaths. They are also controlling distribution of the vaccine, something that until now was well managed by the manufacturers. Notice the long lines folks? Notice the turnaways? A prelude of how the government will run our health care. Be very careful of what you wish for.

[skepticalJM]

The Patient lived but ended up impoverished! It's the disgrace that capitalism created; you can't reconcile a system that embodies "Only I count" with the purpose of society, which exists to minimize the downside of human existence. We have to begin to see the contradiction here, and begin to correct the deficiencies that this perverted economy has created. The gambler's mentality of Capitalism has to be shown for exactly what it is: our own greedy stupidity.

[bubbadubba]

In the communist party, only the top people and the wealthy have benefits and get what they want by bribing top officials. Things like good jobs, and nice homes are only given to top people while the working people stave and die like slaves which is why the Republicans are fighting so hard to keep the US Soviet style communist.
Don't tell me the Republicans are not communists because everything they do is identical to the communist party actions of the old Soviet Union.

[mejordelahistoria]

hey bubbaimbred, who is talking about communism? do you poor ignorant hicks think that people in europe live like in the soviet union??? that's because you never left kansas or bvtthole texas. You need to get out in the real world so you won't be writing stupidity you don't know about. The republicans are not fighting for you, they fight for the corrupt judge that's about to be sentenced in PA, they fight for the walmarts, for the cheneys; not for simple dumb , one language talking morons like yourselves who shouldn't even be allowed to vote. They defend the rich, the AIG executives that are screwing you every day. They make idiots like you think that you are going to be rich someday, the truth is, the system does not allow 99% to come even close. It couldn't sustain itself if everyone was rich, this is why the guy that goes to college and speak 6 languages gets to drive and the rest of you morons get to make the road for him. If you think I'm Bs'ing you just check you that judge from PA and how he sent teenage prisoners to work in the company of a rich person for free as part of their sentences.

[nowhiningallowed]

The Obama Administration knew of this threat months ago, yet did nothing about it. They are now in charge of distributing the vaccine, and all we're seeing are shortages, lies about quantity availability and anticipated dates, thousands waiting in line for hours only to have to be turned away because of no vaccine, while thousands get ill from the swine flu. As recently as 2004 when there was a shortage of flu vaccine, the likes of Senators Clinton and Kerry trashed Bush for the shortages, and lambasted him for putting Americans in peril. Guess what, there's no similar condemnation and lashing out against Obama for doing even worse on this matter. And, as if what Obama hasn't done on this matter isn't sufficient, he declares a National Emergency and guess what? He's going to make sure the prisoners at Gitmo are vaccinated AND he's already earmarked ten percent of OUR vaccine quantity once it's available to OTHER countries. So, where is the media and public outrage over these facts? Is outrage only reserved for a Democrat president? Obama has sacrificed the lives of Americans over his own self-interests, those in other countries and the prisoner terrorists in Gitmo. Some National Emergency. Woinder how many of the one-thousand that have already died could have been spared had he been more aggressive in dealing with the situation? He's handled this worse than Bush did over the 2004 vaccine shortage and also worse than Bush handled Katrina. Yet, no one bothers to bash and trash Obama as he rightly deserves.

[nowhiningallowed]

...meant: Is outrage only reserved for a Republican president?

[jwesel1]

Do you want Obama to change the threat color every week? Only DHS under Republicans was allowed to do that.

[kathyinillinois]

It is OUTRAGEOUS to have this happen in this country! Thank goodness all three of the bills eliminate lifetime caps!

[goeswest]

Kathy

I so very much agree with you,only in the US are you forced into bankruptcy due to medical cost.If these familes were living in Canada or in Euroupe they wouldnt have to pay once dime.I hope all of you Rush Limbaugh Republicians are proud of your country now!!!!! These poor families will now struggle finanically for the rest of their lives.

[COLORADOGRANDMA]

WHAT ARE GOOD HARD WORKING AMERICAN FAMILIES TO DO. THIS YOUNG BOY WILL NOW NOT BE ABLE TO BE INSURED AND HIS FAMILY WILL BE STRAPED WITH HIS BILLS. THESE ARE REGULAR GOOD USA PEOPLE... IT CAN HAPPEN TO AYONE ANY TIME. INSURENCE COMPANYS RUN OUR LIFES.