This includes (some/all?) of the insurance companies press release (copied from the Metro article linked to just below by a pp)
Mother feared £185,000 medical bill for daughter born premature on holiday
Evie in an incubator (Picture: GoFundMe/Sharon Halls)
A family feared being left with a possible £185,000 medical bill after a time difference threatened to invalidate their insurance claims.
Pregnant Sharon Halls was at a friends wedding in the Dominican Republic when she was taken to hospital with early contractions.
The 36-year-old was forced to seek private medical care due to the infection which brought on the contractions.
Baby Evie was born prematurely and being cared for at the hospital for $2,500 (£1,640) a day.
Sharon said medical insurance covered her if she gave birth within 29 weeks – she delivered after 28 weeks and six days at 10.45am.
However Sharon and her partner Daniel Compton feared that Infinity Insurance Solutions would not be able to cover any costs for care while the family were in the Dominican Republic due to the time difference.
An Infinity Insurance Solution spokesperson told Metro.co.uk that Sharon’s insurance policy only covered ‘up to 28 weeks’, however after 28 weeks ‘normal birth is not covered but the needs of the baby are’.
‘Estimating gestational age is always difficult and the gestational age of the baby just prior to birth was found to be 29 weeks and 4 days, but cover for the baby’s needs was never in doubt. At no time has any member of the family been told there was no cover,’ they added.
MORE: Woman fleeing her home during a flood could only grab her dog… and some pizza
Sharon and Daniel during one of their precious moments with their daughter Picture: Sharon Halls)
Sharon and Daniel during one of their precious moments with their daughter (Picture: Sharon Halls)
Stranded couple's desperate plea to help save premature baby in Dominican Republic Sharon Halls Sharon Halls was attending a friend's wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with her partner Daniel Compton (pictured together), 35, when she was taken to hospital with early contractions
Sharon and parter Daniel (Picture: Sharon Halls)
MORE: Lotto winner opens up about being beaten by his girlfriend
The couple say they were advised to take their new daughter to a public hospital, which they say is dirty, and have set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds in order to get Evie back to a private hospital.
So far the page has raised more than £65,000.
‘The sanitation and level of care is next to nothing, she was placed in dirty incubator lined up next to other sick new born babies,’ Sharon said.
‘The equipment was old and even the blanket she laid on was stained and ripped.
‘At this point I cannot be too proud to ask for help as our little Evie needs to come home and in the meantime receive the best care possible.’
MORE: ‘8 injured’ after double decker bus crashes into Sainsbury’s in city centre
Sharon Halls pictured smiling with Evie after giving birth on September 28 at 28 weeks and six days
Sharon with Evie (Picture: Sharon Halls)
Sharon also told of being harassed by the private hospital while she and Daniel struggled to scrape the money together for the initial payments for their daughter’s care.
She said: ‘The public relations people continued to demand money to the point of harassment even pulling us out of our one hour time slot we got with Evie to contact the insurers again.’
Sharon’s mother, Angela, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Evie is making progress, and they think she will be released from hospital in a week or so.
‘However getting her home will be difficult, and she might not be able to fly until December.
‘Sharon has still not been able to hold Evie because she is so tiny, so I think the next mile stone will be when she is able to hold her baby daughter for the first time.’
Angela also mentioned that she has read some negative comments directed at Sharon for travelling while she is pregnant, however the NHS say pregnant women are fine to fly before 36 weeks if they have discussed it with their GP.
Infinity Insurance Solutions released the following statement: ‘IIS does not understand why the time difference has been reported as an issue in this case. All travel policies for leisure purposes sold in the UK have a stipulation on travelling when pregnant. In this case, the policy wording clearly states that pregnancy and childbirth are covered up to 28 weeks. After 28 weeks, normal birth is not covered but the needs of the baby are. Estimating gestational age is always difficult and the gestational age of the baby just prior to birth was found to be 29 weeks and 4 days, but cover for the baby’s needs was never in doubt. At no time has any member of the family been told there was no cover, moreover the time difference between the UK and the Dominican Republic is irrelevant and has never been mentioned by any of our staff
‘The facts are that Ms Halls presented in early labour at a private clinic that told her that they did not have the facilities to treat her and the premature baby, and made it clear that all treatment depended upon prior payment. Faced with this appalling threat, Ms Halls paid for the treatment with a debit card and paid a further sum to be transferred to Santo Domingo. We advised all involved in the case to transfer Ms Halls to the national maternity hospital in the capital Santo Domingo; an excellent hospital that was refurbished with new facilities in 2013. The clinic, however, transferred Ms Halls to their own larger clinic in Santo Domingo. Ms Halls paid for the treatment to date with a debit card and arranged for a further sum to be transferred to the second private clinic in Santo Domingo.
The onset of Ms Halls premature labour was triggered by an illness which falls within policy terms and conditions, therefore all of Ms Halls’ costs incurred to date will be reimbursed. All future costs in relation to Ms Halls’ medical needs abroad, as well as those of Evie will be covered by the policy and the family will be repatriated just as soon as Evie is well enough to travel without risk
‘Although not technically covered by the policy, Ms Halls’ telephone costs and taxi fares will be reimbursed as we consider this to be necessary for her safety. These costs are being covered “ex-gratia”, because we are sympathetic to the particularly difficult circumstances in which the family finds itself.‘