Irena Schulz, who became ill with the coronavirus last summer, has eschewed trips to the emergency room when feeling ill because she worries about the

Covid Killed His Father. Then Came $1 Million in Medical Bills.

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2021-05-23 13:43:47

Irena Schulz, who became ill with the coronavirus last summer, has eschewed trips to the emergency room when feeling ill because she worries about the costs. Credit... Jacob Biba for The New York Times

One coronavirus survivor manages her medical bills in color-coded folders: green, red and tan for different types of documents. A man whose father died of the virus last fall uses an Excel spreadsheet to organize the outstanding debts. It has 457 rows, one for each of his father’s bills, totaling over $1 million.

These are people who are facing the financial version of long-haul Covid: They’ve found their lives and finances upended by medical bills resulting from a bout with the virus.

Their desks and coffee tables have stacks of billing documents. They are fluent in the jargon of coronavirus medical coding, after hundreds of hours of phone calls discussing the charges with hospitals, doctors and insurers.

“People think there is some relief program for medical bills for coronavirus patients,” said Jennifer Miller, a psychologist near Milwaukee who is working with a lawyer to challenge thousands in outstanding debt from two emergency room visits last year. “It just doesn’t exist.”