Bill for Ebola Adds Up as Care Costs $1,000 an Hour

The care provided Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan may have cost as much as half a million dollars, a bill Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas is unlikely to ever collect.

Duncan died today at the hospital, where he had been isolated since Sept. 28. He had been on a ventilator, was given an experimental medicine and began receiving dialysis when his kidney’s failed Oct. 4, the hospital has said. His treatment included fluids replacement, blood transfusions and drugs to maintain blood pressure. There’s also the cost of security, disposing of Ebola-contaminated trash and equipment to protect caregivers.