Man Without Insurance Slapped With $441,000 Medical Bill After Back Surgery

A man without medical insurance has been sent a whopping bill for over $441,000 after having spinal surgery.

Keith, 32, who goes by the name u/drumbum33 on Reddit, recently revealed the cost of spinal fusion surgery, which is a serious procedure that involves connecting two or more bones in any part of the spine. In his case, he had broken four bones and he has been left with 38 staples running down his spine from his neck.

Keith, who lives in South Carolina, told Newsweek: "My reaction when I got the bill was not very worried initially simply because I was so grateful to have had the surgery and everything went well, but over time seeing the number has been stressing me out."

"I've been told on multiple occasions that since the hospital that I attended is non-profit, the chances of the bill getting significantly reduced or completely covered are high, but I am yet to hear anything back about that."

On September 29, Keith shared the shocking bill online and racked up 10,700 upvotes. Other internet users were shocked and disgusted. Some were even offended by the bill's design.

One comment with 5,800 votes said: "Lol the bright ass design and the cheery "Welcome!" Would all just p*** me off more."

Another said: "It's acting like it's a phone or Wifi bill, not like it's your annual income for multiple years."

One user had a similar experience, they said: "Haha yup I ran up a MILLION dollar bill for a 30day hospital stay after a spinal cord injury. Thank goodness I had the time to call every day for a month repeating "I'll never be able to pay this". Eventually they were like "ok fine can you just pay 15k" and I said "call it $5k you've got a deal." This strategy only works if you have the time & are capable of not losing your mind repeating the same story to 100 different people."

Keith told Newsweek he required the injury sadly as a result of a suicide attempt. In the comments of his post, he states he "jumped" and had broken several bones in his spine.

According to the Census Bureau, more people were insured in 2021 than 2020. In 2021, 8.3 percent of people, or 27.2 million, didn't have health insurance at any point during the year, representing a decrease in the uninsured rate and number of uninsured from 2020 (28.3 million).

In 2019, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) identified the reasons why adults aged 18-64 didn't have insurance. It turns out the main reason was because they couldn't afford it. Others weren't eligible or simple didn't want it nor feel the need for it.

The results published on the CDC official website also found that some people said it was too difficult to sign up or couldn't find a plan that met their needs.

Keith has since applied for Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage to Americans. He has also applied for a financial program as he is currently unable to work and has spent most of his savings.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.