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Homer Simpson would owe millions under US healthcare system for series of ailments

‘Bad luck’ and accidents over 30 years resulted in high costs

Gino Spocchia
Monday 13 December 2021 12:51 EST
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The Simpsons marking 700 episodes

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Homer Simpson would have medical bills totalling almost $143m (£108m) if he were not a fictional character, a study has said.

The main figure from The Simpsons has had a series of accidents in the 32 seasons it has aired, some of which were analysed by a Los Angeles firm.

Downtown LA, an accident and injury law group, looked at 50 accidents that Homer has suffered over the years to show how costly healthcare can be in the US.

Among the most iconic of Homer injuries are brain surgeries, paralysis and a triple bypass operation alongside Krusty the Clown.

Homer has also been admitted to a physiatric ward at the request of Marge Simpson, his wife, and has received treatment for “swallowing a lot of motor oil” during a collision.

It was unclear whether or not Downtown LA considered Homer’s lifestyle habits, including eating donuts, drinking Duff beer, and working at a nuclear power plant in the fictional town of Springfield.

Considering that the show fist aired in December 1989, has 32 seasons and more than 700 episodes, the accidents included in the study were only a fraction of what Homer has suffered.

The findings, as Nerdist reported last week, showed that the most expensive of Homer’s injuries were brain related and cost about $1.5m (£1.1m) per incident.

While paralysis came in second $508,904 (£384,000), the effect of “stunts, bad luck, and general accident-prone nature” meant that Homer’s injuries were in fact as high as £143m, Downtown LA found.

That was roughly $10m an episode.

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