FAIRPORT, N.Y. – A Fairport grandmother is in dire straits in Puerto Rico after falling ill during a family vacation for Easter. She has been in hospitals and an ICU for more than two weeks and her family says she has no safe way out.
The family is desperate to get their grandmother, Gerry Bergstrom, back to her doctors at Strong Memorial Hospital but being in Puerto Rico is complicating their insurance and Medicare.
“I think it’s pretty dire,” said Alexa Bergstrom-LaDuke, who is with her sick mother in Puerto Rico.
Bergstrom-LaDuke flew with her mother and children to Puerto Rico for Easter. Bergstrom, a cancer fighter, got the blessing of her doctors to travel. After three years of chemo, she started a cell transplant regimen and showed signs of remission in March. But the day they arrived in Puerto Rico, Bergstrom fell ill and is now in critical condition.
“We need to get her home. Unfortunately the only way that is the safe way for her to get home is by air ambulance,” said Bergstrom-LaDuke.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “So how much would an air ambulance cost out of pocket?”
Alexa Bergstrom-LaDuke: “An air ambulance costs, they begin at $50,000.”
The situation is further complicated because Bergstrom-LaDuke says Medicare won’t pay for an air ambulance from Puerto Rico to Rochester and her mother’s international coverage on her United Health insurance policy won’t either.
Bergstrom-LaDuke: “They consider Puerto Rico part of the United States and not international. So Medicare considers it not to be part of the U.S. and they won’t cover it. And United Healthcare considers it to be part of the U.S. and they won’t cover it.”
Berkeley Brean: “What worries you the most right now?”
Alexa Bergstrom-LaDuke: “Everything worries me. I am terrified that my mom is going to die in Puerto Rico.”
“I tell her every day ‘I just want you to picture us at University of Rochester Medical Center and the flurry of doctors and nurses that will occur as soon as you get wheeled in there,'” said Bergstrom-LaDuke.
News10NBC contacted Medicare and they are looking into the situation. Congressman Joe Morelle’s office was also called and his constituent team is looking into it. There is a GoFundMe account to help pay for the air ambulance which has raised more than $21,000 since April 18.
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