Qatari man owes $250K for Kelowna General Hospital stay

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Photo: Interior Health
Kelowna General Hospital

A Qatari man who racked up more than $250,000 in medical bills during a brief stay at Kelowna General Hospital is being sued

Interior Health has turned to the courts to try and make Kasi Alagappan pay a bill he racked up from June 7, 2024 when he was admitted to KGH to June 22, 2024, when he was discharged

Alagappan, who was not a Canadian citizen, “expressly or impliedly agreed to pay the plaintiff at its non-resident rate schedule for the services upon being invoiced,” the health authority claims in the notice of civil claim filed June 22

The nature of the issue that Alagappan was having treated is not disclosed in the suit

On July 9, 2024, when Alagappan got a $254,485.07 bill from Interior Health, as per the rates and charges approved by the Ministry of Health. He received this bill at his home address in Al Khoh, Qatar

“Despite numerous demands, and in breach of the agreement, the defendant has not paid the balance, or any, of the invoices and the sum of $254,485.07 remains due and owing,” the claim reads

While the reason for Alagappan being in Kelowna has not been disclosed, the issue of non resident medical bills being racked up has become a talking point in the province

Earlier this month SecondStreet.org released data uncovered from a freedom of information request to show that non-residents have racked up more than $200 million in unpaid health bills in British Columbia since 2020

The organization said it found that people from outside Canada are coming to B.C., receiving health services and then not paying their bills

“The government should definitely be taking a look at this problem,” SecondStreet.org president Colin Craig said in a news release

“This is costing B.C. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while access to health care for residents continues to deteriorate. B.C.’s situation is the worst we’ve seen in Canada so far.”

In a breakdown, it found that there are $54,129,000 in outstanding medical bills for Interior Health, $94,595,000 outstanding in the Fraser Health region, , $20,900,000 in Island Health, and $30,982,000 in Vancouver Coastal Health, for a total of $200,606,000. Northern Health did not provide any data

“British Columbians are not guaranteed timely access to healthcare, be it treatment or diagnostics, and this situation continues to deteriorate under the NDP,” said Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Critic for Health in a June 9 media release

“Taxpayers are footing the bill for tourists’ health treatments to the tune of over $200 million, enough to cover over 21,000 hip replacements in this province while British Columbians wait months to years for that surgery.”

The research found B.C. has the worst record of any province in Canada examined so far

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