Cruise Passenger Receives $47K Medical Bill After Catching The Flu Onboard
His medical care cost more than the cruise likely did.
Lopolo | Shutterstock When thinking of their dream vacation, no one includes room in their imagination for getting sick while away. However, it is a possibility that should be taken into consideration. One man learned this lesson the hard way.
On board a dream vacation cruise, an unlucky passenger caught the flu, and his insurance company wants nothing to do with coverage. Suddenly, his once-in-a-lifetime experience has been tainted with a bill he can't afford to pay.
A man won a free cruise only to be slapped with a $47,000 bill for his medical care onboard.
The New York Post reported that Mike Cameron and his girlfriend, Tamra Masterman, of Braham, Minnesota, won a free cruise from the Grand Casino Hinckley. According to Fox 9 KMSP, Cameron and Masterman left Miami on January 5 for a weeklong Caribbean cruise aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Encore. Unfortunately, what should have been a trip full of wonderful memories quickly turned into anything but.
At some point during the cruise, Cameron became ill and visited the ship’s medical center. He was diagnosed with the flu and treated appropriately. Of course, catching the flu while on vacation would be enough to bring anyone down, but things got even worse for Cameron. After a fairly brief three-day recovery period, Cameron received the bill for his medical treatment. It totaled $47,000.
“I was just flabbergasted by the whole thing,” Cameron told the New York Post. “I guess I am just used to the medical system in the United States. I can’t believe it happened.”
The passenger had purchased traveler’s insurance, but he was still on the hook for the cost of care.
Masterman told Fox 9, “The traveler’s insurance doesn’t want to pay it until we run it by our health insurance. The health insurance doesn’t want to pay it because it’s abroad.”
The traveler’s insurance was supposed to cover up to $20,000, which is just a fraction of the bill Cameron accrued. Apparently, the cruise line charged and maxed out two credit cards they had on file for Cameron in an attempt to cover the bill. He still has a $21,000 charge remaining.
In a letter obtained by Fox 9 that Norwegian sent to Masterman, the cruise line insisted that the care it provided was “closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable.” Cameron appeared to be resigned to his pricey fate. He told Fox 9, “I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay them off. I’m going to have to, but I don’t know how.”
While few details are known about the passenger's treatment, $47,000 certainly feels unreasonable.
Neither Cameron nor the cruise line revealed any details about the actual treatment he underwent for the flu, so it is difficult to compare the care he received to its cost. However, a price tag of almost $50,000 easily feels over-the-top.
Bruno Castelli | Pexels
According to an article published in the American Journal of Managed Care, the average cost for an emergency room visit related to the flu was $141.89. If the patient was admitted to the hospital, the cost jumped to $3,251.04. The average inpatient stay for a flu patient was 4.3 days, close to the amount of time Cameron spent recovering. While this is certainly not a small amount of money for the average person, it seems like it is compared to Cameron’s charges.
The passenger is on the line for more than the cost of the average cruise.
Cameron and Masterman won this free cruise and are now being forced to pay more for Cameron’s medical care than the actual cruise itself likely cost. While it’s unclear just how much this specific cruise cost, U.S. News and World Report said, “A seven-night Caribbean cruise in November ranges from approximately $270 to $2,600 per person.”
This is, obviously, a marginal amount of what Cameron is expected to pay for his onboard medical care. It makes it seem like this dream vacation was absolutely not worth it.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.