A Manitoba man who was handed a hefty six-figure hospital bill after a heart attack landed him in a U.S. medical facility is finally off the hook for all of the charges.
Back in October, Robin Milne was rushed from his home near the Canada-U.S. border to an emergency room in Roseau, Minn. It’s one of two hospitals covered by an emergency care deal with the state to cover expenses incurred by Manitoba residents.
Doctors elected to air transfer Milne, then 60-years-old, to a Winnipeg hospital to insert a stent into his arteries. A 90-minute delay prompted a last minute reroute to a facility in Grand Forks, N.D.
That hospital is not part of the agreement with Manitoba. Milne received a bill for US$118,000.
Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen reached an agreement to cover to hospital portion of the bill in March, but Mline was still on the hook for a US$36,000 flight.
He said he received word on Wednesday that the cost of the flight has also been covered.
Mline had previously said the bills could wipe out his retirement savings, or force him to remortgage his home.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg
