Norwegian cruise passenger gets flu, and $47,000 medical bill | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Norwegian cruise passenger gets flu, and $47,000 medical bill

A Braham man is stuck with a $47,000 medical bill after he came down with the flu on board a Norwegian Cruise Line ship earlier this month.

Baffled over $47K bill for flu treatment on cruise

The backstory:

Mike Cameron and his girlfriend, Tamra Masterman, both of Braham, won a free cruise to the Caribbean. 

The Norwegian Cruise Line Encore ship departed from Miami on Jan. 5 on a weeklong tour of the Caribbean. 

During the trip, Cameron came down with the flu, prompting him to visit the ship’s medical center for treatment. 

He recovered after three days but soon learned that the treatment cost $47,000. 

The cruise line charged two credit cards on file, maxing out each of them. He still owes $21,000.

Couple bought travel insurance; it hasn’t helped them

What to know::

The couple bought travel insurance from Norwegian that covered medical expenses up to $20,000. But they have not had luck filing a claim.

"The traveler’s insurance doesn’t want to pay it until we run it by our health insurance. The health insurance doesn’t want to pay it because it’s abroad," explained Masterman.

Cruise line responds:

In a letter, Norwegian told Masterman that its pricing is "closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable…."

When reached via email on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Norwegian said the cruise line is looking into whether the charges are typical for flu treatment.

The Source: Mike Cameron; Tamra Masterman; Norwegian Cruise Line medical bill; Norwegian Cruise Line letter; AON travel insurance letter. 

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