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A New York man has been billed for more than $ 650,000 in medical expenses for a back surgery in order to save him from paralysis.
In March 2018, Frank Esposito of Long Island suffered from severe back pain that made it difficult for him to move.
He underwent an MRI showing a disc herniation in the spine and was told to immediately go to the nearest hospital, CBS This Morning reported.
It is urgent that the doctors informed the manufacturer of tools and dies that, if he did not undergo surgery, he could be paralyzed for the remainder of his days.
Esposito was shocked when, a few months later, he received astronomical health care bills, because his insurer did not consider the operation "medically necessary".
Frank Esposito, of Long Island, New York, began experiencing severe back pain in March 2018 and underwent an MRI.
The MRI showed that Esposito had a herniated disc and was told to go immediately to the hospital. The doctors told him that he needed an immediate surgery or was at risk of becoming permanent. In the photo, left and right: Esposito with his wife
"The hernia was so bad that she could have cut my nerves in half," Esposito told CBS This Morning about her back pain.
In May 2018, Esposito suffered a spinal fusion that stabilized the spine after removal of a herniated disc, which was a success.
But his insurance company, Oxford United Healthcare, told him his back surgery was neither an emergency nor a medical necessity.
Esposito says that he had no choice but to undergo the operation.
& # 39; What was my choice? Just be paralyzed for the rest of my life? he told CBS this morning.
"Then, to get those bills so overwhelming. You say, "It can not be real, I mean, I really do not have to pay for it, how am I going to pay that?" And you sit there and you start crying [because] you do not know what you're going to do.
According to a study published last month at Stanford University, nearly 40% of hospitalized patients only surprise their bills.
While the cost of a herniated disc depends on several factors, CostHelper has estimated the bill between $ 20,000 and $ 50,000.
This includes the surgeon's fees, anesthetist's fees, facility fees, and pain medications after the operation.
"I had just visions of losing everything I had worked for, street visions, living in a room somewhere," Esposito said.
"I could not see … having lost everything because I thought I was going to be covered by my insurance."
The spinal fusion surgery was a success, but his insurance company sent him over $ 650,000 in medical expenses. In the photo: an X-ray of the spine of Esposito
Oxford United Healthcare told Esposito (pictured) that the operation was not an emergency and was not "medically necessary"
Esposito told CBS this morning that he had already paid $ 49,000 using the money from his retirement savings account.
He hired a company to help negotiate bills with Oxford United Healthcare, which helped cover some of the costs.
But he still has an unpaid balance of $ 220,000 and says he does not know how he will pay it.
You work all your life. You work to buy a house. You work for a house. You have to save for everything, "Esposito told CBS This Morning.
"We would like to know that we can see a doctor, that we can be healthy, that we can get treatment without losing all we have."
Oxford United Healthcare did not immediately postpone DailyMail.com's comment request.
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