Soumya Dey will live, thanks to the expert medical response of University Hospital employees. But because of the same hospital's financial policies, he may not get the rehabilitation he needs to fully recover from a car accident.
He is uninsured. He is also a citizen of India, which makes him ineligible for the extended medical care available to American citizens, even those who can't pay for it.The distress that his family and friends feel over his predicament is the kind of thing that happens all too often, says hospital spokesman John Dwan.
"He's a foreign student, uninsured, which means that he's one of those who will fall through the social safety net, if you will," Dwan said.
Dey, 28, of Durgapur, India, and his wife, Sohini, 29, from Calcutta, came to the University of Utah to pursue doctoral degrees.
They met in Utah and married. He was studying materials science and engineering; she was in the area of metallurgical engineering.
But on Nov. 18, Dey was gravely injured in a car accident.
While making a left turn in Salt Lake City, their car collided with a pickup truck.
"My student, Mr. Dey, was a passenger on the front seat, and he was right at the impact point," said Dinesh Shetty, a U. engineering professor. "So he sustained very severe head injuries."
Dey received emergency treatment at University Hospital. Three days later, he had an operation to remove blood clots in his head. Next he was transferred to South Davis Community Hospital, Bountiful, for longer-term care.
"Ever since the accident he has been in a coma. But right now he's stable, he's not in danger. But he's still in a coma. And we don't know when he will come out of it and what will be his condition at that point," Shetty said.
Emergency and critical care were never in question. They will continue as long as he needs them to survive, regardless of who pays - if anybody.
"What we are concerned about is that now that his life is no longer in danger. . . . His rehabilitation costs are going to be very expensive. Right now, there is no mechanism to pay," Shetty added.
Ordinarily, if he were covered, Dey would return to University Hospital for the rehabilitation. But for this type of care, the University Hospital policy is pay or forget it.
Dey's friend, Sheikh Safiullah - a foreign student at the university, from Bangladesh - said Dey "moves his left side. He does not move his right side at all. The doctor says he's under semicoma."
Ajip Dey, the injured man's father, traveled to Utah to be with his son. He and Sohini Dey spend much of their time at his bedside in the Bountiful hospital.
Ajip Dey is an engineer in India, "but his financial means are meager and he's in no position to foot the bills, the medical bills," said Shetty.
Ajip agreed that he can't afford to take his son back home for rehabilitation.
He said of his son, a student here on scholarship, "naturally he doesn't have sufficient money" for insurance. Ajip Dey had urged him to get insurance, but "he said, `It is very tough for me, for my own expenditures.' "
Sohini Dey, who came to Utah from Calcutta in 1990, a year before Dey arrived, said medical opinion is that her husband will require extensive rehabilitation once he emerges from his semicomatose state.
"It's hard to say how he is. Very slowly he's improving. It will take a long time for him to come out from the coma," she said.
Sohini Dey has applied for emergency medical coverage, and Dey may be eligible for that. "But for rehabilitation treatment, they are not going to pay for that," she said.
Dwan said Dey's treatment at University Hospital cost $97,670.69. Dey has not been able to get Medicaid, and the university probably will write off the costs, he said.
Hospital policy is to provide whatever treatment is needed for life-threatening trauma, regardless of insurance. Beyond that, the policy isn't so generous.
Dwan added that Sohini Dey has applied for federal Social Security disability; if he qualifies, Medicaid "would cover the rehabilitation, if they find him eligible for it," he said.
"We don't want to appear hard-hearted here, but we won't treat (beyond life-saving measures) patients here for which we won't get paid for services.
"We are denying him rehabilitation here for inability to pay. It's a sad case. We feel sorry for him and his wife."
Dwan added that the hospital sees similar cases every day. "It's a major problem ," he said.
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Trust fund for uninsured victim
Hoping to raise money to pay for Soumya Dey's treatment, his friends have started a rehabilitation fund. Estimated cost of rehab would be $1,200 a day, and he is expected to need at least a month of this specialized attention once he emerges from his semi-comatose state.
"So for one month, it costs around $40,000," said Dey's friend, Sheikh Safiullah. So far, the fund has raised less than $4,000, he said.
Contributions can be sent to the Soumya Dey Trust Fund, care of University of Utah Materials Science and Engineering, 304 EMRO, U. of U., Salt Lake City, UT 84112.