Following his PFL loss, former UFC contender Kevin Lee experienced a reality check about America’s healthcare system after suffering a broken jaw in his PFL match against Rabadanov in June.
The veteran MMA star was surprised by a massive hospital bill that highlighted the dramatic pricing disparities in medical care across different states. He talked about the incident in a recent Instagram post. After being knocked out in Kansas on June 20th, Lee was taken to a local hospital where he received basic emergency care.
The treatment was minimal – doctors performed CT scans of his face, head, and brain, and gave him some ibuprofen. However, the bill he received was anything but minimal: over $31,000 for what should have been routine post-bout medical attention.
The breakdown of charges was particularly jarring. The CT scans alone cost $22,000, while the emergency room visit – where Lee sat in a hallway for just one hour – resulted in nearly $9,000 in additional charges.
For a contender already dealing with the physical and financial pressures of professional combat sports, this bill represented a massive blow. The true absurdity of the situation became apparent the following day when Lee sought medical care in Florida, where he currently resides.
At the Florida hospital, doctors performed the exact same CT scan that had been done in Kansas, along with an additional X-ray of his shoulder. The total cost was a reasonable $420, which is roughly 400 times less than what the Kansas hospital charged for inferior care.
Making matters worse, the Florida hospital actually provided superior treatment, wiring Lee’s jaw shut to prevent further damage. One particularly egregious detail was a $62 charge for ibuprofen that costs less than $1 at retail. Meanwhile, the Kansas facility that charged over $31,000 simply gave him ibuprofen and sent him home without addressing his injury properly.
Lee’s experience sparked outrage from fans and fellow competitors who pointed out the criminal nature of these charges. Social media responses highlighted that CT scans typically cost around $175-200 when paid out of pocket, making the $22,000 charge appear predatory.
