Boston Marathon attack creates massive health costs

As scores of people injured in the Boston Marathon bombing remain in hospital, efforts are underway to help them cover the cost of medical bills that will likely cost millions of dollars.

The police said Friday night that they hadcaptured Dzhokhar Tsarnaevafter a lengthy search ina Boston suburb. He was found in a boat parkedon a trailerin a backyard in Watertown, Mass., a suburb ofBoston.His brother, who was also a suspect in Monday's bombings, had alreadybeen killed in a gunbattle with police.

Since the explosion Monday afternoon, teams of doctors and medical staff have treated more than 170 victims many of whom were brought to hospital in critical condition for a horrendous list of wounds, including some that required amputations.

• Learn the history of the pressure cooker bomb

Major surgeries, hospital care and rehabilitation are expensive everywhere. But in the U.S., theres a heavy burden on the victims to pay.

How much money was spent treating bombing patients?

"One reported suggested a number like $9 million I think thats reasonable," Dr. Ted Miller, a senior research scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, told CBC News. "There will be other costs because that doesnt include any of the mental health care."

Miller has become well-known in the U.S. media after he used a complex system to harmonize large national datasets of health-care costs todetermine the true cost of expensive gun crimes, such asthe Arizona shooting of former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

• Boston Marathon bombing suspect in custody
• The chaotic search for the Boston Marathon bomb suspects
• On Boston's near-empty streets, sirens and empty storefronts
• Boston fans honour victims at Bruins game

Because the injuries suffered in Bostonare so varied and the patients information is mostly unknown, Miller said he couldn't come up with an exact figure. And while hes not worried about the initial cost of treating the patients, hesaid it will be an expensive proposition down the road.

"In some other mass disasters, people have stepped up when it was terrorism. Employers will step up and say, Weve got you. Hospitals will say, Weve got you," said Miller.

"The question is what happens in two years. What happens in four years. What happens in 25 years later when my prosthetic needs to be replaced?"

Good news and bad news

While the Boston Marathon is an international event, its likely many of the victims come from Massachusetts, where a bill signed into law by former governorMitt Romney requires citizens to puchasehealth insurance. This means its highly unlikely a Massachusetts resident would end up paying the full price of their treatment.

The states funds will be bolstered by charity. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino established the One Boston Fund hours after the bombing, and raised more than $7 million in 24 hours.

Kenneth Feinberg, the Boston-area born lawyer whooversaw the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, will administer the OneBostonFund, a large chunk of which is expected to help with hospital bills. Families of the three people killed in the bombing will also likely receive compensation.

Theres also the possibility that hospitals will absorb some of the medical costs, Miller said.

However, the bad news is that people disabled by the twin blasts may face short-term financial pain, especially if they lose their job. In the U.S., it takes two years to apply and be granted disability assistance, Miller said.

And, it would take far more than $9 million to make up for the quality of life lost when those bombs went off.

Mental health a key concern

Boston Public Health set up a series of counselling stations in the immediate aftermath of the bombings.On Friday,the main station has moved to a smaller community centre on Columbus Avenue.

Rev. Angelo Pappas, a counsellor with the International Orthodox Christian Charities, said hes deeply worried about lingering effects the bombings will have on peoples mental health.

"The speech was good," he said, referring to U.S. President Barack Obamas remarks Thursday at an interfaith church ceremony. "It brought closure to some, but it could have been false closure."

Pappas, who has also worked as a Myrtle Beach fire hall chaplain, said theres also an atmosphere of machismo in Bostonthe "we have to be strong or the terrorists win" thingthats not healthy in the long term.

Pappassaid hes "no fan of socialized medicine," but he thinks the city should continue paying for mental health services such as counselling. A Boston Public Health official said its difficult to tell how much the city has spent on counselling at this time.

"I think [counselling] should be free," Pappas said. "These people were in a public area when this took place you want government to help you at times like this."

Runners and Bostonians seek help

Inside the centre, a young woman in running gear slipped through the clinics glass doors. City worker Meagan Seamen ordered journalists out of the room and started the womans paperwork.

On the other side of the glass anothercityemployee, Sandy Holden, did a quick count. The woman is the seventh person of the day.

"Something has to continue with the counselling," Holden said.

Runners, fans, first responders and regular Bostonians have all visited the counselling centre in the days since the bombing. Holden said she'shappy to see the numbers going down, but shell be happy to keep it open for as long as people need someone to talk to about the tragedy.