WASHINGTON: In a shocking news, a 70-year-old American who survived COVID-19 received a total bill of $1.1 million from the hospital where he was admitted.

According to a media report, Michael Flor was admitted to a hospital in the northwestern city of Seattle on March 4. He was kept at the hospital for 62 days.

At one point, he came so close to death that the nurses held up the phone so his wife and children could say goodbye.

However, in a good news, on May 5, he was discharged upon recovery.

Flor told a leading daily that received a 181-page bill totalling $1,122,501.04. That included, $9,736 per day for the intensive care room, nearly $409,000 for its transformation into a sterile room for 42 days, $82,000 for the use of a ventilator for 29 days, and nearly $100,000 for two days when his prognosis was life-threatening.

What saved him was Medicare, a government insurance program for the elderly. Luckily, he did not have to spent that money and it was taken care of. But, he said that he feels guilty thinking taxpayers need to bear that much cost.

"It was a million bucks to save my life, and of course I'd say that's money well-spent ... But I also know I might be the only one saying that," the Times quoted him as saying.