Her COVID-19 treatment cost more than $1 million. Who’s going to pay for it?

Patricia Mason, 51, displays her medical bills at her home in Vacaville, Calif. Mason works more than full time across two jobs — office administrative work, which she can do from home, and retail, which she can’t. But whereas most health plans are required to follow the federal government’s out-of-pocket maximums, the pipe trades’ plan is “grandfathered in” and does not have to offer all of the same protections. “The confusing nature of health insurance coverage predates COVID-19, but it has been rapidly and disturbingly highlighted by the pandemic.” Though Mason’s insurance pays for a generous 95% of a patient’s stay at an in-network hospital, for really sick people like her, the 5% that she is required to pay is a killer. If she does not pay $1,355.87, her “account will become delinquent in 30 days.” Because Mason’s self-funded plan did not waive out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment, her brush with death came with a large dose of sticker shock, unlike Herrera’s. Especially, she said, because she’d heard that insurance companies were going to waive fees “to make sure people weren’t slammed with bills.” Mason is the first to acknowledge that 2½ weeks in intensive care is an expensive proposition.