A life-threatening heart attack left a teacher with $108,951 medical bill.
Drew Calver, a history teacher and swim coach in Austin, Texas suffered a heart attack last year. Doctors implanted stents in his clogged “widow-maker” artery to save his life.
The heart attack was a shock for Calver, an avid swimmer who had competed in an Ironman triathlon just five months before. It happened before school and a neighbor took him to the nearest hospital, St. David’s.
He was in for another shock.
The hospital told him his insurance would cover the bill even though St. David’s hospital is out of network on his school district health plan.
Then the bills came.
Calver, 44, a high school history teacher and father of two in Austin, Texas was on the hook for $108,951.31 — an amount nearly twice his annual pay as a teacher.
By June the hospital was sending threatening final notices about his bill. Calver said he was afraid he was going to have another heart attack over the bill.
Then NPR and Kaiser health news covered the story and the hospital is changing its tune. It says it will now accept $782.29 to resolve the $108,951 balance because Drew Calver qualifies for its “financial assistance discount.” Calver disputed that he owes any additional money to St. David’s and said this situation should have been resolved long before now.