Calver asked from his hospital bed whether his health insurance would cover all of this, a financial worry that accompanies nearly every American hospital stay. He was concerned because St. David's is out-of-network on his school district health plan. The hospital told him not to worry and that they would accept his insurance, Calver said.
The hospital charged $164,941 for his surgery and four days in the hospital. Aetna, which administers health benefits for the Austin Independent School District, paid the hospital $55,840, records show. Despite the difference of more than $100,000, with the hospital's prior assurance, Calver believed he would not bear much, if any, out-of-pocket payment for his life-threatening emergency and the surgery that saved him.
Then the bills came.
So this man was charged a ridiculous amount for a stay in the hospital, and then after the story went viral, then the Hospital wants to "do the right thing". Why does it take a story getting over 100,000 hits for a company to do the right thing?