Raman anxiously awaits his mother’s test results at one of the leading private hospitals in Bangalore, India. Working as a clerk for a small commercial business, Raman earns $476 USD per month. While supporting a family of four – his wife, child, and widowed mother – Raman barely makes ends meet each month. He has already spent $544 out-of-pocket for preliminary diagnostics to determine his mother’s cancer status. He is told the rest of her tests will cost between $270 and $350. The treatment, which includes surgery to remove a tumor found in her right breast, will cost around $4,762. Raman has basic insurance coverage from his employer for himself, his wife, and his child but his mother remains uncovered. The treatment in a public hospital would be less expensive, however public hospitals are overcrowded with a waitlist of 6-8 weeks for cancer surgery.
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