A couple who unexpectedly had a baby early on vacation is now facing a nearly $1 million medical bill.
Jennifer Huculak and her husband, Darren Kimmel a Canadian couple, were vacationing in Hawaii in October 2013 when Huculak was six months pregnant.
Huculak went into labor while still on vacation - nine weeks early - and needed to be kept on bed rest in the hospital for six weeks. Her baby was in intensive care for two months, CTV News reported.
The couple were grateful after those two months to finally be able to bring home their healthy baby girl, except there was one problem - the medical bill cost $950,000 and their insurance provider refused to pay it, CTV News reported.
Before going on vacation the couple bought travelers insurance through Blue Cross, who said her early labor would not be covered.
"Ms. Huculak was diagnosed and treated for a high-risk pregnancy in the six months prior to departure. As Ms. Huculak is currently hospitalized and being treated for this high-risk pregnancy, any expenses incurred are not eligible under the terms of your policy," Blue Cross said to CTV News.
Huculak said she was cleared by her doctor to travel and denied having a high-risk pregnancy. She added that her doctor in Canada wrote to Blue Cross confirming the pregnancy was not high-risk.
"We thought we had done everything right," Huculak told CBC. "We thought we had covered all avenues and we thought we were covered. We thought we were safe to go."
The couple said they are continuing to try and negotiate with Blue Cross because they cannot afford an almost $1 million bill. They told CTV News that the only options given to them right now is to declare bankrupcy or "wait it out," neither of which they are happy about.
"It's been a very stressful year. I think what keeps us going every day is this beautiful little girl that we have," Huculak told The Canadian Press.
