A computer error led to panic for an unemployed doorman who received a bill for more than $A43.4 million from New York's Bronx-Lebanon Hospital.

"I almost had an asthma attack," Alexis Rodriguez told the New York Daily News on Monday, recounting his reaction when he opened the envelope containing a bill for US$44,776,587 ($A43.4 million).

The 28-year-old underwent three weeks of treatment for pneumonia at Bronx-Lebanon last April and was expecting a bill, but had been told he would have to pay only a very small portion of the $US40,000 tab.

Contacting Bronx-Lebanon, he learned that the firm that handles billing for the hospital, PHY Services, mistakenly substituted invoice numbers for the amounts owed on bills that went to dozens of patients.

PHY, which has been inundated by phone calls from other victims of the mistake, has already sent out apologies to those who received erroneous bills, company representative Ricardo Paul told the Daily News.


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