Coronavirus: Good Samaritan hit with $1,000 hospital bill after saving man’s life

CAPE COD, Mass. — A stranger jumped in to save a man who suffered a medical emergency while driving last month and was later hit with a $1,000 hospital bill.

Paul Manganella, one of the people who helped in the rescue, went straight to a hospital to get tested for the coronavirus after saving the stranger who had a heart attack while driving.

“We broke into his car through his window, got the car in park, put him in the back of his car and gave him CPR,” Manganella said. “The paramedic looks at me and he was like, ‘Were you wearing a mask when you gave him CPR?’ and I was like, ‘Oh no.’ We kind of had just forgotten about it (the pandemic) all,” Manganella said.

At the hospital, Manganella was told that he couldn’t get a coronavirus test and would instead have to quarantine for 14 days.

“I’m not an anxious guy, but I was like, ‘Can I have the test?’ I have a fiancee and my parents are a little older, and her parents are a little older. So I was like, ‘Can I have the test?’ and she was like, ‘No,’” Manganella said.

A few weeks later he received a bill for just over $1,000. He called his insurance company, which was prepared to cover the bill as long as the hospital recorded the visit as coronavirus-related.

But Manganella said the hospital wouldn’t rebill his insurance. Others stepped up and offered to pay, but Manganella said he just wants the hospital to do the right thing.

“It’s one of those things, like, $1,000? I came in in the middle of a pandemic with another guy’s blood on my face. I wanted a test, and if I had gotten the test, I would have avoided a thousand-dollar fine,” Manganella said.

Manganella said he would have still jumped in to help.

“I would definitely do it again, end of the day. But you can see why people give this stuff second thoughts,” he said.

Cape Cod Healthcare told WFXT-TV Friday that it apologized to Manganella for the error and said he no longer owes the money.

Cox Media Group