因被確診新冠肺炎，美國西雅圖一位70歲老人在當地一家醫院接受了兩個多月的治療。治癒出院後，他收到了長達181頁的治療帳單，共計110多萬美元。幸運的是，他參加了聯邦保險，大部分費用由保險支付。
A member of a "prone team," dons personal protective equipment (PPE), before entering the room of a patient with COVID-19 in a Stamford Hospital intensive care unit (ICU), on April 24, 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut. [Photo/Agencies]
A Seattle man who was dubbed 「the miracle child」 when he recovered from the coronavirus after being the longest-hospitalised patient has now received a $1.1m bill for his lengthy stay.
西雅圖一名因感染新冠病毒而住院時間最長的男子被人們稱為「奇蹟兒童」，現在他已康復，但因長時間住院而收到了110萬美元（約合人民幣778萬元）的帳單。
Michael Flor, 70, almost died from the novel virus, but he joked his hospital bill also almost killed him after his 62-day stay rounded up to $1.1m in fees.
70歲的麥可弗洛差點因感染新冠病毒而去世，但他開玩笑說，他62天的住院費用高達110萬美元，這也差點要了他的命。
「I opened it and said, 'Holy'!,」 the Washington resident told the Seattle Times.
這位華盛頓居民告訴《西雅圖時報》說：「我打開帳單後驚呼，『我的天哪！』」
The 181-page hospital bill listed all the treatments and fees Mr Flor racked up while staying at Swedish Medical Centre in Issaquah, and the official amount owed stands at $1,122,501.04.
這份181頁的醫院帳單列出了弗洛先生在伊薩誇的瑞典醫療中心接受的所有治療和費用，官方應付金額為112萬2501.04美元。
Fortunately for Mr Flor, he was on Medicare when entering the facility, which means a majority of the bill will be covered.
幸運的是，弗洛在入院時已加入聯邦醫療保險，這意味著大部分帳單將由保險支付。
The US government could also foot portions or the entirety of the bill because Congress set aside $100bn to help hospitals and insurance companies amid the pandemic. But officials have warned this amount might not be enough, with estimates reaching $500bn in costs to treat US coronavirus patients.
美國政府還可能會承擔部分或全部帳單，因為國會已撥款1000億美元，幫助醫院和保險公司應對疫情。但官員們警告稱，這一數額可能不夠。據估計，美國新冠肺炎患者的治療成本將達到5000億美元。
foot [ft]：vt.支付
Mr Flor told the newspaper he held some 「survivor’s guilt」 from surviving the virus, which often attacks the upper respiratory system. The hospital bill only added to that guilt.
弗洛告訴《西雅圖時報》，他對倖存下來感到內疚，醫院的帳單只會加重他的負罪感。新冠病毒經常攻擊上呼吸道。
「I feel guilty about surviving,」 he said. 「There’s a sense of 『why me?』 Why did I deserve all this? Looking at the incredible cost of it all definitely adds to that survivor’s guilt.」
他說：「我對我還活著感到內疚。我突然有一種感覺，為什麼會是我？為什麼我要承受這些？看看這令人難以置信的代價，無疑增加了倖存者的負罪感。」
The bill included nearly 3,000 itemized charges the man accumulated while staying in the hospital.
帳單中包括了弗洛住院期間累積的近3000項費用。
When breaking down the bill, $408,912 was charged for the 42 days Mr Flor was in an intensive care room equipped with a special isolation chamber. Then an additional $82,215 was charged for the ventilator he used for 29 days.
帳單顯示，弗洛在配有特殊隔離室的重症監護室住了42天，費用為40萬8912美元。他使用了29天的呼吸機，還要額外支付82215美元。
Two of the days when Mr Flor was in the hospital involved his hearts, lungs, and kidneys all failing, bringing him close to death. Those two days racked up $100,000 in charges as doctors worked to save the man’s life, according to the Seattle Times.
據《西雅圖時報》報導，在弗洛的心臟、肺部和腎臟都出現衰竭、瀕臨死亡的兩天裡，醫生們盡力挽救他的生命，花費了10萬美元。
Part of Mr Flor’s guilt comes from the understanding that someone is paying for the $1.1m bill.
弗洛之所以感到內疚，部分是因為他知道有人在為這110萬美元買單。
「It was a million bucks to save my life, and of course I』d say that’s money well-spent,」 he said. 「But I also know I might be the only one saying that.」
他說：「救我的命花費了100萬美元，我當然會說這錢花得值。但我也知道可能只有我一個人這麼說。」
英文來源：獨立報
翻譯&編輯：yaning
來源：中國日報網