Tourist held hostage at Punta Cana hospital

[DR fan1990]

A French Canadian tourist is currently being detained at a Punta Cana hospital over unpaid fees totalling $100 000.
They just won't let her go.
And the bill increases by $4000 everyday. So they won't let her go, BUT they still charge her for every extra night they keep her in there.

Apparently her travel insurance company (Québec Blue Cross) denier her coverage over a pre-existing medical condition.

Article in French, please use Google translate:

https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2023/05/31/une-hopital-de-punta-cana-refuse-de-laisser-partir-une-quebecoise-tant-quelle-ne-paye-pas-la-facture-de-100-000

 

[PCMike]

Oddly enough, the hospital name is not mentioned, but I strongly suspect it is Hospiten. That place runs like a money mill, holding people overnight for simple issues, all in the name of making money. There is a reason why most of us expats never step foot in the place.

I did a search of the lady and added Punta Cana. Nothing comes up....other than the one story posted here. As they say, there are 2 sides to every story and some things are embellished.

I have had friends (uninsured) spend time in local hospitals and they pay nowhere near $4,000 a day...be it Canadian or American dollars Not even close.

 

[MariaRubia]

US$ 4000 a day for a hospital. Gosh, someone saw her coming didn't they. I just wonder, if you've been in hospital for 25 days, and you know that they are charging this crazy high amount to be there, surely you'd be on the phone constantly to your insurance company to check that you were covered wouldn't you? I know I would.

 

[MariaRubia]

Oddly enough, the hospital name is not mentioned, but I strongly suspect it is Hospiten. That place runs like a money mill, holding people overnight for simple issues, all in the name of making money. There is a reason why most of us expats never step foot in the place.

I did a search of the lady and added Punta Cana. Nothing comes up....other than the one story posted here. As they say, there are 2 sides to every story and some things are embellished.

I have had friends (uninsured) spend time in local hospitals and they pay nowhere near $4,000 a day...be it Canadian or American dollars Not even close.

My thoughts exactly Mike, I can't see how they are charging that much I could easily imagine a bill of RD$ 100,000 for a few days in hospital, I wonder if someone has got wires crossed.

 

[Big]

Medical care is a business not a charity. No place is charging her 4000.00 dollars a day, maybe pesos. She should pay her bill and not be a dead beat.

 

[SKY]

Link looks like Spam or some garbage site. Get nothing you can read when you click.......... Forget this crap..................

 

[SKY]

This looks like a Virus. Do NOT click on this. OP should NOT have posted this. Be careful............

 

[DR fan1990]

Link looks like Spam or some garbage site. Get nothing you can read when you click.......... Forget this crap..................

What are you on about? Virus links don't start with https. That "s" in https is for "secure".

And it's a link from Quebec's top news site, TVA Nouvelles.

Works for me with no problem.

Check your ad blockers or phone settings or something.

 

[PCMike]

This looks like a Virus. Do NOT click on this. OP should NOT have posted this. Be careful............

TVA is a legitimate news source. I watched the video and indeed it is Hospiten.

 

[CristoRey]

Did this women think she'd just be allowed to come back and pay it later?
Scouts honor, I promise?

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Min 2000 pesos/night in a campo private clínic, so yes. I'm sure CMC charges 4k. And yes, pesos folks. Wake up

 

[Drak]

What are you on about? Virus links don't start with https. That "s" in https is for "secure".

Not commenting on your link or the story itself, but rather this point above ^^

The 's' for 'secure' doesn't mean the contents of the site is secure. From Wikipedia:

The principal motivations for HTTPS are authentication of the accessed website and protection of the privacy and integrity of the exchanged data while it is in transit. It protects against man-in-the-middle attacks, and the bidirectional block cipher encryption of communications between a client...

1. Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS
2. SE: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/66355/can-an-https-site-be-malicious-or-unsafe
3. Uncle Leo: https://askleo.com/is_an_https_connection_really_all_that_safe/

Be aware that scam, and virus sites can be found on https ...

 

[cavok]

These private clinics do gouge tourists, but $4000 USD/day? I doubt it. 4000 pesos/day doesn't make any sense either. No way you're going to get a private room at one of the better clinics here as a tourist for less than 10,000 pesos/day.

 

[PCMike]

These private clinics do gouge tourists, but $4000 USD/day? I doubt it. 4000 pesos/day doesn't make any sense either. No way you're going to get a private room at one of the better clinics here as a tourist for less than 10,000 pesos/day.

I noticed on the video, that she was still on an IV drip. This is not something that one would be on unless there is an issue at hand. 3 weeks on a IV??? Something ain't right!

 

[AlaPlaya]

I went to Centro Medico to have a minor injury looked at, and I was charged a 30,000 peso deposit. The hospital later did the billing and the total was just under 25,000 pesos for medical care that lasted less than 20 minutes. So I believe the story.

 

[SKY]

IMG is the absolute worst place to go for anything. Large hospital wilth inexperienced Doctors and Gringo Prices. Punta Cana Clinic on Ave Espana is a legit operation, with serious Doctors. And the small Clinic next to it Bavaro Centro has the most knowledgeable Doctor anywhere in the owner Dr. Rodriguez. No comparison to PC Clinic but this Doctor can diagnose and either fix or tell you where you need to go.............

 

[Big]

Did this women think she'd just be allowed to come back and pay it later?
Scouts honor, I promise?

dollars to donuts she is going to try and get a free hotel stay as well as this free hospital stay. The catalyst for her hospital stay was probably too much champagne.

 

[chico bill]

Well - the problem is the website is in French - so I can not understand it.
Feel sorry for her, but your first option (if you can move) should be to get on a plane and get back home to Canada where the socialist medicine will cover everything.
For those that think the link is a scam, turn off you adblocker, put your big boy pants on (not pulled up to your nipples), untuck your t-shirt and stop taking those paranoid-indusing tablets

 

[RDKNIGHT]

That place is a joke legalize thieves with no guns. and I100 % believe this could be true

 

[Big]

Well - the problem is the website is in French - so I can not understand it.
Feel sorry for her, but your first option (if you can move) should be to get on a plane and get back home to Canada where the socialist medicine will cover everything.
For those that think the link is a scam, turn off you adblocker, put your big boy pants on (not pulled up to your nipples), untuck your t-shirt and stop taking those paranoid-indusing tablets

the problem is very simple to solve. Call someone who loves you, have them wire you money to pay your bill. Scam artists do not have as many options here.