title:  These 2 Orlando Hospitals Just Saved Pulse Nightclub Shooting Victims Over $5 Million In Costs
text: The two Orlando-area hospitals that treated the shooting victims from the tragic Pulse nightclub attack are doing something amazing: They won t bill those patients for their out-of-pocket costs. Considering the fact that ER visits and hospital stays can run tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and our healthcare industry prioritizes getting their due dollars in any way possible over care, this is amazing news indeed.Instead, Orlando Regional Medical Center, which treated most of the victims, will seek additional payment from insurance and from a victims  fund that city officials established in the wake of the shooting. Whatever insurance and the victims  fund don t cover will be written off.Florida Hospital, which treated 12 victims, said it actually won t bill any of them or their insurance, nor will it bill them for follow-up treatment stemming from the attack.The two hospitals together will write off at least $5.5 million in treatment and care.David Strong, president and CEO of Orlando Health, said: The pulse [sic] shooting was a horrendous tragedy for the victims, their families and our entire community. During this very trying time, many organizations, individuals and charities have reached out to Orlando Health to show their support. This is simply our way of paying that kindness forward. The families of those who died won t find themselves charged, either.The victims who received care are relieved   they were set to get fucked sideways with a rusty chainsaw by the abysmal payer structure that exists in our healthcare industry, which actually bankrupts entire families. Indeed, most of them (if not all of them) can t afford to pay for this level of hospital care.These are people who simply went out for a night of fun, and ended up badly hurt and in the hospital. They have to deal with the far more insidious mental and emotional trauma of the shooting in addition to healing from their physical injuries, and victims  families are in a lot of pain, too. Nobody should ever have to deal with the added stress of hugantic bills for medical care they need.Now these victims can relax a bit about their treatment, and focus more of their energy on healing in all ways. If only more in our greedy, for-profit healthcare system cared as much as these hospitals.Featured image by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images