Virginian dental patient gets $44k bill
A sore-mouthed patient’s pockets are stinging after he was slapped with a $44,000 dental bill.
Kenny Van Deusen, from Fredericksburg, had three teeth removed and critics have said that his bill is proof that the US needs health reform.
Reports have called the bill “mind blowing” and said that Van Deusen was charged astronomic prices for services.
He was billed $457 for a quarter-mile ambulance journey to the helipad at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital, $16,298 for a 40-mile flight to Richmond and $25,529 to have three teeth extracted.
Craig Yale, Vice President of Air Methods Corp, said that the Virginian Medicaid air ambulance only received $1,119 for Van Deusen’s flight, which is “barely enough to cover fuel costs”. But what was done with the $15,179 change?
Commentators are now calling the health system “out of whack”.
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