I guess luck can only take you so far. Mike Cameron thought he was the luckiest man alive when he and his girlfriend, Tamara Masterman won a free Norwegian cruise. However, the good times did not keep on coming. While he may have experienced some incredible things on that cruise, he also ended up catching a horrible case of the flu on the cruise. In fact, that flu was so bad that it ended up costing him $47k in medical bills.
Flu On A Cruise Turned Into Man's Most Expensive Illness
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When we think of a flu, we think of high fever for a couple days then we are all set to go. Or at least, that is my typical experience with the flu anyway. For this Minnesota man however, the outcome was quite different. For starters, he caught this flu while on the cruise, which is never fun. After all, who wants to be sick on vacation? I will answer that for you, no one. The NY Post shares that Mike Cameron's cruise was set to "set sail out of Miami on Jan 5."
While this vacation was a dream come true, what happened next was not. While on the cruise, Mr. Cameron came down with a nasty case of the flu. Not wanting to ruin his entire trip, he decided to seek medical attention while on the boat. Like the majority of flu victims, he recovered within three days. Doesn't seem so bad does it? Well, it didn't until he received his medical bill from the cruise line some time later.
While he was being treated on board, crew members soothed him and told him not to worry about anything. Looking back, perhaps they were so jovial because they knew the amount of money they were about to receive. After the cruise ended, Mr. Cameron shared that he received a nearly " $50,000 medical bill" from the cruise line. With that sort of dollar amount, you would assume he received life-saving surgery, not some NyQuil.
He shared, "I was just flabbergasted by the whole thing. I guess I am just used to the medical system in the United States. I can't believe it happened."
Who Has To Pay This Obscenely Large Bill?
While I am sure we can all agree that this $47k in medical bills is absolutely ludicrous, it doesn't change the fact that someone has to pay it. But who is responsible for this? Luckily, Mr. Cameron shared that he did purchase travel insurance through the cruise line. However, that travel insurance does not cover the full amount. According to Cameron and his girlfriend, they purchased insurance that "covered expenses of up to $20,000 and have health insurance."
Unfortunately, Mr. Cameron is now part of the age-old insurance games. That is where each company points fingers at the other claiming they are responsible to foot the bill. Mr. Cameron's travel insurance refuses to pay until the charges are run by his health insurance. However, his health insurance claims that the travel insurance is responsible to cover the costs, not them. This leaves poor Mr. Cameron on the hook for a lot of money. All for catching a simple flu while on the cruise.
When speaking with Fox 9, he said, ""I don't know how I'm ever going to pay them off, I'm going to have to, but, I don't know how." While I am flabbergasted right alongside of Mr. Cameron, the cruise line argues that their prices are ""closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable." Well, if that is the case I can tell you I am never taking a cruise in my life because that is just ridiculous. Either that or I will make sure I have some darn good travel insurance, worth at least $50,000 of coverage.
