An unemployed security guard has been left reeling by an “unbelievable” bill of more than $16,000 for three days in hospital.

The 28-year-old was left with no choice but to admit himself to the Emergency Department after he was stricken with pneumonia.

“I don’t have insurance so they would know I am not working, so how do you expect me to pay $16,000? It’s not possible,” said the former patient, who asked not to be named.

“I get the little odd job here and there, but to try and pay this off when I have no solid source of income is outrageous.

“Come now, which is a good three weeks after I got out, I know there’s still something there in my system. From the bill I have now, I am clearly not going back down there. I could be putting my health at risk.”

Most of the fee came under the category of DRG, or diagnosis related group, which corresponds with the level of care required for patients admitted to the acute ward.

According to a Bermuda Hospitals Board spokeswoman, DRG codes and their corresponding fees are set by the Bermuda Government.

“The more complicated and severe a person’s conditions are, the higher the DRG-related fees,” she told The Royal Gazette.

The Pembroke resident said he initially took his illness to be influenza and tried to “wait it out” for the week before he was admitted on January 28.

“But it just kept getting worse. I was in my bed having cold sweats. Finally I went down to the hospital to get checked. They ended up telling me it was pneumonia.”

After a chest X-ray in the Emergency Department, he was admitted by a doctor and spent the next three days in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

“The whole three days I was there, it’s not like they did any more X-rays; I gave them a tube of blood or two and that’s pretty much it. I was getting liquid codeine and cough syrup. If they’re doing this little work, how can it be possible for my bill to be $16,000?”

An initial bill covering blood tests plus the $866 mandated for an emergency room visit came to $2,539 — but a bill arriving last week, which included DRG, came to $14,113, for an overall total of $16,652.

The patient, who was discharged on January 31 with a prescription for antibiotics, said he felt like he had been billed “$13,000 for a pill”.

While BHB cannot comment on specific patients, a spokeswoman for the board said BHB was sorry to hear about his financial distress, and encouraged him to contact its credit department at 239-2954 to come to a manageable solution.

“We are willing to meet with anyone who finds it financially challenging to pay their hospital bill,” she added. Hospital expenses are incurred by both the insured and uninsured, she said, based on the severity of each case.

“The most severe cases seen in the Emergency Department incur a cost of $866. Lab and other testing that may be done at that time also have associated costs which are added to that base $866.”

The spokeswoman said that BHB accepted that some who fell ill would be unable to afford the cost of the care they required.

“Government has an indigent subsidy to address this concern. Anyone who feels they are in need of the subsidy should call BHB’s credit department on 239-2954 and make an appointment to be assessed. Individuals who qualify for the subsidy will have their bills covered by this Government subsidy.”

The indigent subsidy is set by the Health Insurance Act 1970. Those eligible would be “a person who in the opinion of the Minister responsible for Health is unable, by reason of inadequate financial resources, to pay the premium required for health insurance”, according to the Act.

The spokeswoman added: “We encourage anyone with queries about their hospital bill, to contact our credit department.”

Michael Weeks Shadow Minister of Health said: “The unfortunate situation faced by this young man is now all too common and sends a strong message about what is wrong with our healthcare system. Another clear case of two Bermudas. We live in a society of the ‘haves’ while the ‘have nots’ show up in Debter’s court on a Wednesday morning, many times for bills such as this.

“Regrettably, the medical costs for both the insured and uninsured continue to make steady climbs. Here you have a young man who is jobless, he risked staying home rather than seeking medical attention, because of his employment situation. However, when his medical condition worsens, he makes his way to the emergency room for treatment, only to receive a bill for (as he states fairly modest services rendered) of $16,000. Something is definitely wrong with that picture. We must fix this! Given the current increase in unemployment in this country, there is no doubt that the plight of this young man will become the rule rather than the exception. But the question still remains, ‘how does an unemployed person find comfort in being provided a payment plan?’ The need for healthcare reform in this country is now.”