Canadian couple face $1 million medical bill after woman gives birth in U.S.

A Canadian couple were slammed with a $950,000 medical bill in March after their daughter was prematurely born during a trip to the United States last year, and the costs won't be covered by insurance.

Darren Kimmel and Jennifer Huculak were vacationing in Hawaii last October when Huculak's water broke two days into their trip. She spent six weeks on bed rest in a Hawaiian hospital, and delivered their baby, Reece, on Dec. 10, 2013. Born nine weeks early, Reece was placed in intensive care for two months.

The Saskatchewan couple had purchased travel insurance from Blue Cross before their trip, and said they received assurances from their broker that "we were covered," Huculak told The Toronto Star. And despite a bladder infection that caused bleeding several months earlier, the family's doctor gave Huculak the green light to travel.

"We are unable to provide coverage for any medical expenses incurred for Ms. Huculak's baby," a Saskatchewan Blue Cross representative wrote in a December 2013 letter to Honolulu-based Kapi'olani Medical Center, where Huculak was treated. "As Ms. Huculak's emergency medical claim has been denied on the basis that her medical emergency is excluded from coverage under the terms of her pre-existing condition provision, her baby is also not eligible for coverage."

The bulk of the $950,000 bill went to care for the couple's daughter, while $160,000 was for Huculak's hospital stay and $40,000 was for a medical evacuation. 

The Saskatchewan government is paying $20,000 to help cover part of the costs, and since going public with their story, Huculak and Kimmel have been receiving offers of private donations from strangers.

Canada has a publicly funded universal health care system, and all eligible residents are guaranteed access to medical services. The United States has a more privately oriented health care system, which means citizens must pay for more of the costs of treatment up front.