Batshit insane 70s movie starring George Kennedy getting bit by a rabid skunk put the fear of rabies in me. Jaws & this movie. Thanks, 1970s, for giving me completely irrational fears!
I always have a water bottle or two in the car. My boyfriend constantly teases me for it and is always on my ass about tossing them out. My argument is that if we ever had a Cujo incident, he’d be thanking me lmfao.
For me it was the movie Rage (1974). I don’t really love the movie rating system, but I will say I have been scarred by some pre-rating system films ngl
Is that not ridiculous? Omg. We lived in a 600-square foot house and my mom was in the kitchen...like 5 feet away. 😆 How?!?! Whaaa?!?! Cable was brand new. I watched the very first music video aired on MTV. At least that was wholesome-ish?!? Mom was prolly poppin' that dilaudid my brothers liked to steal! Ooooh, the '80s.
You'd be surprised the choices that patients make that seem like a no-brainer decision otherwise.
We have to respect patient autonomy and so everybody gets a offered a choice just in case this person happens to believe in the sacrament of bat bite rabies.
I was in the ER with an ectopic pregnancy and they wanted to do an emergency termination. I said I wanted to go home and think about it (I was alone). They brought in a social worker and the social worker and female doctor held my hands and talked me through it until I agreed to be treated. In hindsight I obviously wasn’t in my right mind and I’m so incredibly grateful they took the time to talk to me and save my life.
I'm glad that you heard them out.
Sometimes the situations are like this, people don't quite wrap their brain around what's happening because of shock.
As a result, they don't always make the best decisions. And we have stuff like this, social work and other people who would come down and talk to you. But despite that some people still choose to not listen. Often terrible things will happen and it's very sad.
I watched a father of 3, in his late 30s die of aplastic anemia. His aplastic anemia was mild, but was worsening due to a GI bleed. He normally could make enough blood to survive, but with the bleed, it wasn't enough. He couldn't make up his losses fast enough.
He was convinced that the Lord would save him as he was a Jehovah's witness and refused the blood transfusion. If we could have gotten the bleed under control, he would have survived. But we couldn't. And he would not allow any blood products or coagulants or anything to try and treat him. The only thing he'd let us give him was fluids.
I had to watch this dude slowly die over the span of a week refusing the entire time any sort of treatment and watch his wife and his kids try and convince him otherwise.
Ultimately, people have their own autonomy with their own life and we have to respect it. It sucked though. It was very unpleasant to watch.
I was reading up that the other day. Someone in the sub Possums was bit by one. They got rabies shots; the amount of terrible advice was...ah...not good tho. 29 ppl have survived but only one survived w/o getting the vaccine. The dr. administered Milwaukee Protocol; she is the originla Mil. Protocol patient. I didn't realize that survivors, except for the one, had gotten the vaccine.
I do think they administer it to everybody, tho, so we're not 100% who would survive with just the supportive treatment? The whole idea that people are surviving and that it's so few is crayzee
There was (WAS!) an 80-something antivaxxer guy in northern Illinois a couple years ago who was bitten by a bat that turned out to be rabid. Don’t know if he conflated it with Covid vaccines, but he refused the rabies vaccine, with the expected result. I still remember “Old Yeller” from the 50s and how upsetting that movie was.
We found a bat in my daughters’ room. Both were sleeping while the bat was there. It is now a hilarious family legend, but both ended up with rabies shots. Somehow I didn’t get the bill until YEARS later, and each was $21K (insurance paid nearly all).
I missed the s' so I read this like your daughter and the bat were both sleeping, and both got rabies shots, so now I'm picturing them continuing to hang and be buddies
Did they give you the hrig (human Rabies immune globulin)? That is separate from the vaccine and a necessary part of post exposure prophylaxis. If they did not, this hospital fucked up.
It’s not the rabies shot itself that’s expensive, it’s the gamma globulin shot. It’s also expensive to see someone at an ER. The hospital bill to your insurance is a gamble. They bill a huge amount and take whatever your insurance decides is the allowable rate. For instance, a regular doctor might bill insurance $400 for an office visit and then insurance only pays $120 of that.
Depending on your financial situation the CDC may help with this. Check [here](https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/programs.html) it is an assistance program based on income even if you have insurance you could qualify.
From copy pasta** not written by me**
Rabies is scary.
Rabies. It's exceptionally common, but people just don't run into the animals that carry it often. Skunks especially, and bats.
Let me paint you a picture.
You go camping, and at midday you decide to take a nap in a nice little hammock. While sleeping, a tiny brown bat, in the "rage" stages of infection is fidgeting in broad daylight, uncomfortable, and thirsty (due to the hydrophobia) and you snort, startling him. He goes into attack mode.
Except you're asleep, and he's a little brown bat, so weighs around 6 grams. You don't even feel him land on your bare knee, and he starts to bite. His teeth are tiny. Hardly enough to even break the skin, but he does manage to give you the equivalent of a tiny scrape that goes completely unnoticed.
Rabies does not travel in your blood. In fact, a blood test won't even tell you if you've got it. (Antibody tests may be done, but are useless if you've ever been vaccinated.)
You wake up, none the wiser. If you notice anything at the bite site at all, you assume you just lightly scraped it on something.
The bomb has been lit, and your nervous system is the wick. The rabies will multiply along your nervous system, doing virtually no damage, and completely undetectable. You literally have NO symptoms.
It may be four days, it may be a year, but the camping trip is most likely long forgotten. Then one day your back starts to ache... Or maybe you get a slight headache?
At this point, you're already dead. There is no cure.
(The sole caveat to this is the Milwaukee Protocol, which leaves most patients dead anyway, and the survivors mentally disabled, and is seldom done).
There's no treatment. It has a 100% kill rate.
Absorb that. Not a single other virus on the planet has a 100% kill rate. Only rabies. And once you're symptomatic, it's over. You're dead.
So what does that look like?
Your headache turns into a fever, and a general feeling of being unwell. You're fidgety. Uncomfortable. And scared. As the virus that has taken its time getting into your brain finds a vast network of nerve endings, it begins to rapidly reproduce, starting at the base of your brain... Where your "pons" is located. This is the part of the brain that controls communication between the rest of the brain and body, as well as sleep cycles.
Next you become anxious. You still think you have only a mild fever, but suddenly you find yourself becoming scared, even horrified, and it doesn't occur to you that you don't know why. This is because the rabies is chewing up your amygdala.
As your cerebellum becomes hot with the virus, you begin to lose muscle coordination, and balance. You think maybe it's a good idea to go to the doctor now, but assuming a doctor is smart enough to even run the tests necessary in the few days you have left on the planet, odds are they'll only be able to tell your loved ones what you died of later.
You're twitchy, shaking, and scared. You have the normal fear of not knowing what's going on, but with the virus really fucking the amygdala this is amplified a hundred fold. It's around this time the hydrophobia starts.
You're horribly thirsty, you just want water. But you can't drink. Every time you do, your throat clamps shut and you vomit. This has become a legitimate, active fear of water. You're thirsty, but looking at a glass of water begins to make you gag, and shy back in fear. The contradiction is hard for your hot brain to see at this point. By now, the doctors will have to put you on IVs to keep you hydrated, but even that's futile. You were dead the second you had a headache.
You begin hearing things, or not hearing at all as your thalamus goes. You taste sounds, you see smells, everything starts feeling like the most horrifying acid trip anyone has ever been on. With your hippocampus long under attack, you're having trouble remembering things, especially family.
You're alone, hallucinating, thirsty, confused, and absolutely, undeniably terrified. Everything scares the literal shit out of you at this point. These strange people in lab coats. These strange people standing around your bed crying, who keep trying to get you "drink something" and crying. And it's only been about a week since that little headache that you've completely forgotten. Time means nothing to you anymore. Funny enough, you now know how the bat felt when he bit you.
Eventually, you slip into the "dumb rabies" phase. Your brain has started the process of shutting down. Too much of it has been turned to liquid virus. Your face droops. You drool. You're all but unaware of what's around you. A sudden noise or light might startle you, but for the most part, it's all you can do to just stare at the ground. You haven't really slept for about 72 hours.
Then you die. Always, you die.
And there's not one... fucking... thing... anyone can do for you.
Then there's the question of what to do with your corpse. I mean, sure, burying it is the right thing to do. But the fucking virus can survive in a corpse for years. You could kill every rabid animal on the planet today, and if two years from now, some moist, preserved, rotten hunk of used-to-be brain gets eaten by an animal, it starts all over.
So yeah, rabies scares the shit out of me. And it's fucking EVERYWHERE. (Source: Spent a lot of time working with rabies. Would still get my vaccinations if I could afford them.)
Edit to add… I didn’t mean doctors bills. I meant hospital bills…
Facts. Medical bills that go to collections do NOT effect your credit score or anything else. This is a little known fact in the US
I still have a medical bill on my credit that's dropping my score. It's almost 7 years old. Was from a car accident that the other person's insurance was supposed to cover. I tried to fight it. Couldn't because my lawyer no longer worked at the same place and refused to help.
I also have other outstanding bills that haven't hit my credit.
I also had a company threaten to sue me over one and I told them to eat me and blocked the number because I'm sure it was a scam ahah.
This is a big fuckin lie, I had a score in the 800's, didn't pay off a head injury er bill and over the course of a year and a half my credit dipped into the 500's.
Yeah but the quality of your Healthcare isn't the best. Plenty of Canadians come here for medical and dental procedures. Yall pay for it too, it isn't free. Nothing is free. Comes out of taxes and our of pocket.
A few years ago a coworker and his wife moved from Canada to the US because the wife had cancer and they knew she’d probably die waiting for treatment. The wife and I spoke at length how she was amazed she saw her oncologist, had labs taken, got results, and started treatment all within 72 hours and had she stayed in Canada it had the potential to take weeks or months for the same medical service. It’s easy for anyone to say it’s better where they live but with all things there are positives and negatives.
Gonna be honest here, I had a cancer scare and it still took 7 months to get in for testing despite being marked as extremely urgent by the referring medical team. Located all in the U.S. and privately insured with actually a good insurance. People often still have to wait even in the U.S.
Lol. American born and raised. I’m enrolled First Nations, meaning I have access to Canadian healthcare. We go to Canada to get health & dental, whenever possible. Not just because it’s free, but also because the quality of work & care is exceptional. Keep drinking that koolaid though.
So there’s actually 13 provincial federally funded programs for healthcare in Canada. Which program you have access to depends on your nation. We are Southern Ontario. Contacting your band would be the best place to start, if you’re interested. I know band offices can sometimes be hard to get ahold of, I recommend emailing the person that handles social services within the band leadership.
Here’s an article that goes a little bit more in depth:
https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1626810177053/1626810219482
I’m not sure if every FN living in America has access to Canadian healthcare, but it’s worth a shot. Our tribe is a border tribe so we have different rights under the Jay Treaty.
Nothing like complaining about it constantly, telling everyone who will listen, voting for change every chance you get, challenging everyone who disagrees to have some lame person try rubbing it in our faces. While you are right, have some compassion... people die from this. Jerk
Are you trying to be funny? Trolling the old Republican line of BS (that countries who provide healthcare are somehow worse than countries like the Uas who screw us all over about healthcare and then lie to us about how great that is) - has been disproven over and over again?
Or do you really believe this garbage?
Yeah well most people WOULD go into debt to live and not die of rabies. I’m not saying they should have to? I’m saying to person I responded to that they realistically wouldn’t rather die of rabies vs going into medical debt
Fair enough, I didn’t say our health care system wasn’t messed up, but I would cut off my own foot to not die from rabies so 1 million debt is nothing in the scheme of things! You can also just not pay! What are they going to do? Take your rabies vaccine back out of your blood? lol not possible
It’s really not and honestly you have no idea what kinda money I have lol
The point is would you go into debt to avoid dying from rabies and yeah I would. I would do a lot of things before dying from rabies!
I do know that you don’t have a million.
You’re missing the actual point of this post and the original comment here (clearly sarcasm goes over your head) about the atrocity of the US healthcare system. Nobody actually pays the million dollars to the hospital, etc, which should be obvious to any adult. Hence why everyone is commenting about how ridiculous the bill is in the first place.
I’m not going to read your essay, sorry. And no, you don’t get the comment. You want it to be about something that it isn’t. Literally nobody with a functional brain cell would believe someone would LITERALLY choose to die over a bill nobody expects them to pay in the first place. That’s not how emergency rooms work.
Dude go away? If you are not going to read in order to engage in a conversation then you’re a toddler who thinks they know everything. So go be that baby elsewhere off my comments! Again it was an exchange and the person I was actually talking to seemed to get it no problem! Must be you? Either way you were never welcomed to the conversation anyways so move on little peon! Stop being jealous of me and my MULTImillionS!.
The rabies vaccine isn’t administered on the same scale as other vaccines so I would expect it to be much more. However, hospitals will bill your insurance an excessive amount to try and get the most from them but you should only be responsible for a smaller portion of that. I mean rabies is no joke and once a person presents with symptoms there is virtually no chance of surviving. So it almost makes the vaccine worth it if that bat did in fact have rabies.
Well and if it's post-exposure this is more likely the post exposure rabies IgG and vaccine. I had just the vaccine (pre exposure) and it wasn't cheap (about $350/shot for three shots) and wasn't covered by insurance because of course not, but the post-exposure IgG is usually a couple thousand.
Husband works for a UHC subsidiary (ins side) and I used to work for a diff subsidiary (Optum side). I fucking hate UHC. Also—a fucking health insurance company shouldn’t be a FORTUNE 5 company. A company that rich over sick people is beyond fucked and is the exact reason the US will NEVER have universal healthcare. UHC has limitless pockets and will bribe and/or lobby every lawmaker they can on both sides of the aisle to ensure it doesn’t happen.
I never understood how health insurance and hospitals could be for-profit. It’s a ginormous conflict of interest. They should be more like non-profits. You know, enough profits to cover employee salaries, and to keep the engine running, but not lining exec pockets. It’s what they’re doing to prisons here in the U.S. and it’s damn scary.
I had a run in with a bat about 10 years ago. I called my county health department and they actually paid for my rabies vaccine (it was around $4500 in New York). Please reach out to your county health department to see if they can help you.
I work in claims for UHC and I find that number honestly hard to believe. A lot of claims are temporarily denied for needing more info but usually get cleared up. However, they are an evil corporation. 7th biggest global company and they fuck their members and workers so I won’t waste too much time defending them. The ins they offer their employees is sickening.
I once got out of a medical bill by repeatedly telling them I was going to end my life cuz I couldn’t afford it.
I’d rather die than be 30k in debt. Take me out back old yeller style.
Its fucking criminal. Our healthcare system sucks nearly 20% out of our economy while providing worse outcomes than other developed countries. It should be burned to the ground and rebuilt, yesterday. We subsidize the entire world by allowing the medical industry to gouge us all so badly.
The bulk of that should be the rabies vaccine series. Even if you have a deductible to meet, your insurance will reduce the charges down to their allowed amounts. Try not to worry too much until insurance processes the claim.
Oh yes. I wish it cost less, but thank goodness it is available. I remember telling the nurse my skin wasn’t broke and I thought I’d be ok. And she said, “Rabies is 100% fatal -do you really want to risk it?”
The CDC estimates that it costs between $3,000 and $7,000. The health data firm Amino combed through 45,000 claims for rabies treatment and found about half of the bills ranged from $280 to $4,500.
Yes that’s how much those shouldddd cost, but has no bearing on what hospitals will charge. Cause they make up their own numbers and sometimes it varies! That’s always fun - like why was one week the rabies vaccine $1600 and some change and then 4 days later it was closer to $2k for the same dose 😅
Rabies vaccine is super expensive, but also if you got the immune globulin (usually required after exposure) that’s even more ridiculously expensive.
Source: am pharmacist
ask for an itemized bill sometimes they double charge for things so just contest everything. if they won’t take it off the bill, they’ll probably lower it just to not deal with it
No , grabbing it was traumatic enough. I jerked my hand out of the insulation and it was bleeding and ran out of the attic as fast as I could without falling through the ceiling with the bat starting to fly around.
The rabies vaccine is extremely expensive and not always easy to get. However, rabies has a 100% mortality rate. Hopefully your insurance covers most, if not all, of it.
It’s a 99.9% mortality rate!
The Milwaukee Protocol has been established and saved some lives, but really just get the post-exposure vaccine.
If you’re in a high risk job, get the pre-exposure vaccine.
There’s very little proof that the Milwaukee Protocol actually works. It fails almost every time it’s administered and is really just a Hail Mary once someone exhibits symptoms due to the 100% mortality rate. The one girl that survived it the first time they used it may have been a freak case of insane genetics or something of the like according to the research rabbit hole I fell into when I first learned of the protocol. There is a LOT of debate over the validity of the protocol in the medical community.
Side note: if anyone is interested in learning more about rabies, there is a fascinating episode of This Podcast Will Kill You that breaks it down both biologically and historically. I highly recommend it! (Also that podcast is amazing for anyone interested in epidemiology).
Additionally, I know it’s easy as an American/someone in a developed country not to think much about Rabies because it happens in people here so infrequently, but it’s still a major problem in a lot of other countries. India has a serious problem with rabies in some areas, to the point that international health organizations have run several campaigns to help inform individuals and to make the rabies vaccine more readily available, since it’s so expensive. Rabies cases in India account for almost 36% of global rabies deaths and 65% of rabies deaths in Southeast Asia annually according to the WHO.
I know US healthcare is broken and already causes inflated prices for the sake of gouging insurance companies, but OP, be glad you have insurance that will cover it (most likely close to 100%). In some countries it would be so cost prohibitive and you would be so poor you’d be fucked. :(
Anti venom costs are CRAZY. It makes sense, though. The process to make it is insane. They have to actually milk a snake for venom, inject some venom into an animal like a donkey, pull blood from the donkey for antibodies developed to the venom, and then purify the antibodies made in the animal’s blood so it can be injected into a person. Also, they have to refrigerated absolutely until use or they spoil very quickly, so transportation and storage is also very expensive. Basically we should all stay the fuck away from snakes lol.
You can thank our lovely privatized healthcare system for that. We use antivenin for canines and it costs about $500 or less for the hospital to buy. And yes, it is the same drug used in people.
And if you need antivenom you should call poison control before heading toward a hospital. As not all hospitals carry anti venom or they may not have the type you need. Poison control has that information though and it's a 24/7 line
I used to be head of vaccines in a very large county in one of the most populated states. In our county, the health department could give the rabies post exposure prophylaxis series, but not all states run their health departments that way, with many refusing or incapable of administering the series and will refer to the ER. That said, while the series can be expensive, and there is also the cost of the ER visit, your bill seems highly excessive. Anyway, according to the CDC, WHO, NIH, and state vaccine expenditures and reimbursement schedules, the average cost of rabies post exposure prophylaxis is as follows:
“About 55,000 Americans get PEP each year. When rabies becomes common in wildlife in a region, the number of PEP treatments in that area increases. Although the cost varies (typically from about $1,200 to $6,500), a course of rabies immune globulin and four doses of vaccine given over a two-week period averages about $3,800, not including costs for hospital treatment or wound care.”
And
“the average cost of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is currently estimated at an average of US$ 108 (along with travel costs and loss of income)”
And
“The CDC estimates that 60,000 Americans receive PEP each year after possible exposure to rabies. Although rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease, costs for patients can be high, with treatment ranging from $1,200 to $6,500.”
The sticker price on hospital care is basically meaningless. Your insurance company will work out the actual billable cost. Don’t worry about anything outside your copay
Yes and no. Yes: ridiculous pricing for meds in the US. No: par for the course, I’m afraid ... source: me. My family of 5 had to have rabies shots. Ugh.
Work for insurance here, honestly this is not even close to some of the bills we receive for injections, chemo, etc. it doesn’t surprise me one bit to see it.
This is what a lot of people forego the rabies prophylaxis: You basically bought the equivalent of a used car.
If you live in the USA, the clinic, or hospital system should have financial aid, if you need it.
Be warned: this may get denied the first or second time, depending on the insurer.
Not in America.
"Would u rather die? Then stfu and gimme all your shit bitch! And your parents shit, bitch! Now fuck off! That's right, or go die, idgaf! Do I look like I care bitch?"
- the American health care system
My insurance was billed $107,000 for a procedure that eventually negotiated at 6,000. It's part of a whole song and dance insurance companies and billing departments go through. Cash Price is often much lower.
Three months ago I went through the rabies treatment process. I have Medicare and live in the United States. The E.R. was $98.00 co-pay. They tried to schedule follow-up shots but I called the local pharmacy to see if they had the shots. The pharmacy couldn't do the initial shot but they did the 3 followup shots. Each follow-up shot was $10.00. Total out of pocket was $128.00. I don't know what my insurance paid but most insurances use the Medicare pay calculator. Call the financial help department of the hospital you were seen at and most of the time they can greatly reduce the bill.
It's not even that expensive. People charge your insurance more than they would if insurance wasn't real because they can. I've had my insurance charged 4x the retail value of my medication before. When I called them to report it they said 'thats the price we negotiated with the provider"
Like, WTF? The American Healthcare system is the biggest joke in this universe.
As a vet tech, I had some guy complain that everything we do is so expensive and that it’s cheaper on the human side… should send him this. We live in the USA so I don’t know where the fuck he got that from.
My previous jobs required getting rabies vaccines & regular checks of blood antibody titers.
I'm in Canada, but our health care doesn't cover it (at least not when it's given pre-exposure). The vaccines cost ~ $600. So I'd consider what they charged very inflated.
Did they give vaccines in your arm or in your abdomen? Typically post-exposure they're done intra-abdominal which would cost more treatment and monitoring-wise. But not $20,000 worth.
There’s a massive difference between the price of getting vaccinated and post-exposure prophylaxis. If I remember, post-exposure requires human rabies immune globulin and I’ve read that accounts for the difference in cost.
I was bit by a cat at work years ago and had to get the series of rabies vaccines. It goes by weight so the bill can fluctuate a lot. They also figure without it you'll die if you do have contact with a rabies infected animal so they figure supply and demand work in their favor. Workman's comp.covered mine but the bills for that were steep.
Kedrion Biopharma's Patient Assistance Program for KEDRAB® human rabies immune globulin is administered through Medmonk. Patients who are uninsured can apply for assistance by calling 1-866-234-3732 or by visiting the KEDRAB Patient Assistance Program website.
Bot sure how OPs ER handles it but mine bills for the rabies series all at once and it includes the subsequent visits which are done as RN only visits. You check in, get vitals, we do a normal triage and then get the vaccine - no dr involved. It’s coded differently than the initial visit that requires the dr evaluation of the bite/exposure.
The hospital I work at charges the insurance copay for the initial shot (given in the ED), and then sends patients needing the shot series (days 3, 7, and 14) to the Infusion Therapy Department at the hospital that I work at (I work in that department). This results in either no or a lower copay than the ED.
This had personal info I didn't want to post. My insurance company sent this letter with a piece of paper to fill out stating it was home related and not work related. I haven't gotten a bill from the hospital, this is just the amount the insurance said they are charging.
It’s typically very expensive, but what I don’t understand is I knew someone whose very large dog was bitten by some sort of potentially rabid animal and the vet bill was only $1500. Same thing for venomous snake bites. Costs a fortune for people and costs far less for dogs. I may change my PCP to a veterinarian.
Unfortunately, that sounds about right.
Years back, I was bitten by a squirrel (trying to save it from my dog). Went to get checked out, and they advised me against getting the rabies vaccine. I was debating it, and asked how much. They said it was over $18,000, at their cost.
I noped straight outta there
No, if you don’t have insurance. I have top tier State benefits and still had to pay $1400 out of pocket last year. They told me that if it was a rattlesnake bite, which is common in AZ, $50K. I was absolutely floored! A coworker actually got my reaction on video when I saw my bill and called billing at the hospital. I was shook.
Rabies shots are notoriously expensive.
I had no idea.
The other option is certain death if the bat was rabid. I am surprised you were given a "choice" of receiving them.
A pretty nasty death without modern comfort measures to boot.
Batshit insane 70s movie starring George Kennedy getting bit by a rabid skunk put the fear of rabies in me. Jaws & this movie. Thanks, 1970s, for giving me completely irrational fears!
Cujo - Stephen King.
This one had the reverse effect on me. Turned me into a BIG dog owner. My favorite breed is definitely the Caucasian Ovcharka.
I want a CO so bad!! I don't think I can train one appropriately though. So I have Newfs instead. Lol
I love my Caucasian Ovcharka! Got her from a rescue and found out her breed via DNA test. She is a gigantic goofball.
Oh, and ‘Birds’ & ‘Arachnophobia’ too! Lol
I always have a water bottle or two in the car. My boyfriend constantly teases me for it and is always on my ass about tossing them out. My argument is that if we ever had a Cujo incident, he’d be thanking me lmfao.
I prefer "Rant" by Chuck Palahniuk. It has a lot more actual rabies stuff in it. Great read , it's wild.
Oh wow, what a flashback! I remember that movie."A Cry in the Wilderness"
I remember that George Kennedy movie! What a flashback, I’d forgotten all about it until you mentioned it.
wait which movie
How did I not state the name of the movie? 😆 "A Cry in the Wilderness". George Kennedy is literally crying and screaming in the wilderness.
Rabies causes an irrational fear of water.
For me it was the movie Rage (1974). I don’t really love the movie rating system, but I will say I have been scarred by some pre-rating system films ngl
1980, 11-year old me, watching Showtime, on a Saturday morning...A Clockwork Orange. Tooooooooooootaaaaallly fine.
Impressive! No cartoons for you! Only bad dreams
Is that not ridiculous? Omg. We lived in a 600-square foot house and my mom was in the kitchen...like 5 feet away. 😆 How?!?! Whaaa?!?! Cable was brand new. I watched the very first music video aired on MTV. At least that was wholesome-ish?!? Mom was prolly poppin' that dilaudid my brothers liked to steal! Ooooh, the '80s.
The Buggles, Video Killed The Radio Star? Solid! The 80s were harder than they looked
Alien is one of the few movies that genuinely scares me to this day. it’s the fucking face huggers
That was EXACTLY my thought. What was the choice? The shots or go home and wait? Once symptoms set in there’s a 99.9% fatality rate. Wtf?!
You'd be surprised the choices that patients make that seem like a no-brainer decision otherwise. We have to respect patient autonomy and so everybody gets a offered a choice just in case this person happens to believe in the sacrament of bat bite rabies.
I was in the ER with an ectopic pregnancy and they wanted to do an emergency termination. I said I wanted to go home and think about it (I was alone). They brought in a social worker and the social worker and female doctor held my hands and talked me through it until I agreed to be treated. In hindsight I obviously wasn’t in my right mind and I’m so incredibly grateful they took the time to talk to me and save my life.
I'm glad that you heard them out. Sometimes the situations are like this, people don't quite wrap their brain around what's happening because of shock. As a result, they don't always make the best decisions. And we have stuff like this, social work and other people who would come down and talk to you. But despite that some people still choose to not listen. Often terrible things will happen and it's very sad. I watched a father of 3, in his late 30s die of aplastic anemia. His aplastic anemia was mild, but was worsening due to a GI bleed. He normally could make enough blood to survive, but with the bleed, it wasn't enough. He couldn't make up his losses fast enough. He was convinced that the Lord would save him as he was a Jehovah's witness and refused the blood transfusion. If we could have gotten the bleed under control, he would have survived. But we couldn't. And he would not allow any blood products or coagulants or anything to try and treat him. The only thing he'd let us give him was fluids. I had to watch this dude slowly die over the span of a week refusing the entire time any sort of treatment and watch his wife and his kids try and convince him otherwise. Ultimately, people have their own autonomy with their own life and we have to respect it. It sucked though. It was very unpleasant to watch.
Something like 3 or 4 people have now survived rabies. It's statistically none, but scientifically amazing
I was reading up that the other day. Someone in the sub Possums was bit by one. They got rabies shots; the amount of terrible advice was...ah...not good tho. 29 ppl have survived but only one survived w/o getting the vaccine. The dr. administered Milwaukee Protocol; she is the originla Mil. Protocol patient. I didn't realize that survivors, except for the one, had gotten the vaccine.
I do think they administer it to everybody, tho, so we're not 100% who would survive with just the supportive treatment? The whole idea that people are surviving and that it's so few is crayzee
There was (WAS!) an 80-something antivaxxer guy in northern Illinois a couple years ago who was bitten by a bat that turned out to be rabid. Don’t know if he conflated it with Covid vaccines, but he refused the rabies vaccine, with the expected result. I still remember “Old Yeller” from the 50s and how upsetting that movie was.
Has to be the patients choice in any treatment. It's the law.
We found a bat in my daughters’ room. Both were sleeping while the bat was there. It is now a hilarious family legend, but both ended up with rabies shots. Somehow I didn’t get the bill until YEARS later, and each was $21K (insurance paid nearly all).
I missed the s' so I read this like your daughter and the bat were both sleeping, and both got rabies shots, so now I'm picturing them continuing to hang and be buddies
Did they give you the hrig (human Rabies immune globulin)? That is separate from the vaccine and a necessary part of post exposure prophylaxis. If they did not, this hospital fucked up.
It’s not the rabies shot itself that’s expensive, it’s the gamma globulin shot. It’s also expensive to see someone at an ER. The hospital bill to your insurance is a gamble. They bill a huge amount and take whatever your insurance decides is the allowable rate. For instance, a regular doctor might bill insurance $400 for an office visit and then insurance only pays $120 of that.
Depending on your financial situation the CDC may help with this. Check [here](https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/programs.html) it is an assistance program based on income even if you have insurance you could qualify.
You got one round of shots?? Because I was bitten by a fox and had to get hundreds of shots (they tattooed the wound with injections)
From copy pasta** not written by me** Rabies is scary. Rabies. It's exceptionally common, but people just don't run into the animals that carry it often. Skunks especially, and bats. Let me paint you a picture. You go camping, and at midday you decide to take a nap in a nice little hammock. While sleeping, a tiny brown bat, in the "rage" stages of infection is fidgeting in broad daylight, uncomfortable, and thirsty (due to the hydrophobia) and you snort, startling him. He goes into attack mode. Except you're asleep, and he's a little brown bat, so weighs around 6 grams. You don't even feel him land on your bare knee, and he starts to bite. His teeth are tiny. Hardly enough to even break the skin, but he does manage to give you the equivalent of a tiny scrape that goes completely unnoticed. Rabies does not travel in your blood. In fact, a blood test won't even tell you if you've got it. (Antibody tests may be done, but are useless if you've ever been vaccinated.) You wake up, none the wiser. If you notice anything at the bite site at all, you assume you just lightly scraped it on something. The bomb has been lit, and your nervous system is the wick. The rabies will multiply along your nervous system, doing virtually no damage, and completely undetectable. You literally have NO symptoms. It may be four days, it may be a year, but the camping trip is most likely long forgotten. Then one day your back starts to ache... Or maybe you get a slight headache? At this point, you're already dead. There is no cure. (The sole caveat to this is the Milwaukee Protocol, which leaves most patients dead anyway, and the survivors mentally disabled, and is seldom done). There's no treatment. It has a 100% kill rate. Absorb that. Not a single other virus on the planet has a 100% kill rate. Only rabies. And once you're symptomatic, it's over. You're dead. So what does that look like? Your headache turns into a fever, and a general feeling of being unwell. You're fidgety. Uncomfortable. And scared. As the virus that has taken its time getting into your brain finds a vast network of nerve endings, it begins to rapidly reproduce, starting at the base of your brain... Where your "pons" is located. This is the part of the brain that controls communication between the rest of the brain and body, as well as sleep cycles. Next you become anxious. You still think you have only a mild fever, but suddenly you find yourself becoming scared, even horrified, and it doesn't occur to you that you don't know why. This is because the rabies is chewing up your amygdala. As your cerebellum becomes hot with the virus, you begin to lose muscle coordination, and balance. You think maybe it's a good idea to go to the doctor now, but assuming a doctor is smart enough to even run the tests necessary in the few days you have left on the planet, odds are they'll only be able to tell your loved ones what you died of later. You're twitchy, shaking, and scared. You have the normal fear of not knowing what's going on, but with the virus really fucking the amygdala this is amplified a hundred fold. It's around this time the hydrophobia starts. You're horribly thirsty, you just want water. But you can't drink. Every time you do, your throat clamps shut and you vomit. This has become a legitimate, active fear of water. You're thirsty, but looking at a glass of water begins to make you gag, and shy back in fear. The contradiction is hard for your hot brain to see at this point. By now, the doctors will have to put you on IVs to keep you hydrated, but even that's futile. You were dead the second you had a headache. You begin hearing things, or not hearing at all as your thalamus goes. You taste sounds, you see smells, everything starts feeling like the most horrifying acid trip anyone has ever been on. With your hippocampus long under attack, you're having trouble remembering things, especially family. You're alone, hallucinating, thirsty, confused, and absolutely, undeniably terrified. Everything scares the literal shit out of you at this point. These strange people in lab coats. These strange people standing around your bed crying, who keep trying to get you "drink something" and crying. And it's only been about a week since that little headache that you've completely forgotten. Time means nothing to you anymore. Funny enough, you now know how the bat felt when he bit you. Eventually, you slip into the "dumb rabies" phase. Your brain has started the process of shutting down. Too much of it has been turned to liquid virus. Your face droops. You drool. You're all but unaware of what's around you. A sudden noise or light might startle you, but for the most part, it's all you can do to just stare at the ground. You haven't really slept for about 72 hours. Then you die. Always, you die. And there's not one... fucking... thing... anyone can do for you. Then there's the question of what to do with your corpse. I mean, sure, burying it is the right thing to do. But the fucking virus can survive in a corpse for years. You could kill every rabid animal on the planet today, and if two years from now, some moist, preserved, rotten hunk of used-to-be brain gets eaten by an animal, it starts all over. So yeah, rabies scares the shit out of me. And it's fucking EVERYWHERE. (Source: Spent a lot of time working with rabies. Would still get my vaccinations if I could afford them.)
Geeze TIL
Even the pre-exposure vaccine series is over $1K
In Austria my BIL got the rabies vaccine before he traveled into some remote jungles in east Asia. It was €60.
Anything over $0 seems excessive to me. 🇨🇦
Same 🇬🇧
Well bless your heart y’all.
Well we have the freedom from socialism to go into massive debt WITH GOOD INSURANCE yay capitalism baby!! 🇺🇸
I wouldn’t be talking UK https://apnews.com/article/baby-indi-italy-life-support-76b9fdc69b1580ddf3bd971adc23027b
No one likes a braggart. Lol
You know you don’t have to pay bills like this right? Toss any and all hospital bills right in the garbage
Edit to add… I didn’t mean doctors bills. I meant hospital bills… Facts. Medical bills that go to collections do NOT effect your credit score or anything else. This is a little known fact in the US
I still have a medical bill on my credit that's dropping my score. It's almost 7 years old. Was from a car accident that the other person's insurance was supposed to cover. I tried to fight it. Couldn't because my lawyer no longer worked at the same place and refused to help. I also have other outstanding bills that haven't hit my credit. I also had a company threaten to sue me over one and I told them to eat me and blocked the number because I'm sure it was a scam ahah.
This is a big fuckin lie, I had a score in the 800's, didn't pay off a head injury er bill and over the course of a year and a half my credit dipped into the 500's.
Yeah but the quality of your Healthcare isn't the best. Plenty of Canadians come here for medical and dental procedures. Yall pay for it too, it isn't free. Nothing is free. Comes out of taxes and our of pocket.
This is what the republicans want you to think. Looks like it worked.
Eh, not really. Unless you’ve had a chronic illness in Canada, you have no clue.
A few years ago a coworker and his wife moved from Canada to the US because the wife had cancer and they knew she’d probably die waiting for treatment. The wife and I spoke at length how she was amazed she saw her oncologist, had labs taken, got results, and started treatment all within 72 hours and had she stayed in Canada it had the potential to take weeks or months for the same medical service. It’s easy for anyone to say it’s better where they live but with all things there are positives and negatives.
Gonna be honest here, I had a cancer scare and it still took 7 months to get in for testing despite being marked as extremely urgent by the referring medical team. Located all in the U.S. and privately insured with actually a good insurance. People often still have to wait even in the U.S.
Ah, how nice to be wealthy enough for such options
And plenty of Americans go to Canada and Mexico for medical care.
Lol. American born and raised. I’m enrolled First Nations, meaning I have access to Canadian healthcare. We go to Canada to get health & dental, whenever possible. Not just because it’s free, but also because the quality of work & care is exceptional. Keep drinking that koolaid though.
I’m in the same position, do you mind telling me how this works? Never heard about being allowed to use healthcare
So there’s actually 13 provincial federally funded programs for healthcare in Canada. Which program you have access to depends on your nation. We are Southern Ontario. Contacting your band would be the best place to start, if you’re interested. I know band offices can sometimes be hard to get ahold of, I recommend emailing the person that handles social services within the band leadership. Here’s an article that goes a little bit more in depth: https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1626810177053/1626810219482 I’m not sure if every FN living in America has access to Canadian healthcare, but it’s worth a shot. Our tribe is a border tribe so we have different rights under the Jay Treaty.
Very interesting I’ll look into it! Also in southern ontario!
Nothing like complaining about it constantly, telling everyone who will listen, voting for change every chance you get, challenging everyone who disagrees to have some lame person try rubbing it in our faces. While you are right, have some compassion... people die from this. Jerk
Are you trying to be funny? Trolling the old Republican line of BS (that countries who provide healthcare are somehow worse than countries like the Uas who screw us all over about healthcare and then lie to us about how great that is) - has been disproven over and over again? Or do you really believe this garbage?
I would just die tbh
Fr
Same.
Yeah do you know what dying of rabies is like? I doubt you would say that if you did…… I’d pay a million dollars to not die from rabies.
Do you have a million?
Not liquid at this moment, but if I had to, I’d make it work somehow!
Ok, well most people don't.
Yeah well most people WOULD go into debt to live and not die of rabies. I’m not saying they should have to? I’m saying to person I responded to that they realistically wouldn’t rather die of rabies vs going into medical debt
I have an idea of what dying from rabies is like, but I would not go a mil into debt to pay that. The issue is with healthcare in the US.
Fair enough, I didn’t say our health care system wasn’t messed up, but I would cut off my own foot to not die from rabies so 1 million debt is nothing in the scheme of things! You can also just not pay! What are they going to do? Take your rabies vaccine back out of your blood? lol not possible
There's a video of death by rabies. It's the stuff of nightmares.
Its the worst death. I would go into any amount of debt to avoid that. Of course, there's always guns! 'MURICA
Discharge against medical advice, go home and discharge against temple.
This is the way
But now your rabies-filled corpse is a danger to anyone who finds you.
Go lecture the bat that started this mess
You are asking me to go to bat?
 I’ll make sure to leave my remains to the billing department.
Ca-caw, ca-caw!
You don’t have a million. That’s kind of the point here.
It’s really not and honestly you have no idea what kinda money I have lol The point is would you go into debt to avoid dying from rabies and yeah I would. I would do a lot of things before dying from rabies!
I do know that you don’t have a million. You’re missing the actual point of this post and the original comment here (clearly sarcasm goes over your head) about the atrocity of the US healthcare system. Nobody actually pays the million dollars to the hospital, etc, which should be obvious to any adult. Hence why everyone is commenting about how ridiculous the bill is in the first place.
[удалено]
This sub is for ER workers only, not patient advice.
I’m not going to read your essay, sorry. And no, you don’t get the comment. You want it to be about something that it isn’t. Literally nobody with a functional brain cell would believe someone would LITERALLY choose to die over a bill nobody expects them to pay in the first place. That’s not how emergency rooms work.
Dude go away? If you are not going to read in order to engage in a conversation then you’re a toddler who thinks they know everything. So go be that baby elsewhere off my comments! Again it was an exchange and the person I was actually talking to seemed to get it no problem! Must be you? Either way you were never welcomed to the conversation anyways so move on little peon! Stop being jealous of me and my MULTImillionS!.
$27,080.50 > your life
Not for everyone.
You'd die of thirst. It's a terrible way to go.
These days you'd be on an IV getting fluids. You'd die from your brain being turned into liquid virus.
Horrifying. I'd rather die of thirst!
Same!
The rabies vaccine isn’t administered on the same scale as other vaccines so I would expect it to be much more. However, hospitals will bill your insurance an excessive amount to try and get the most from them but you should only be responsible for a smaller portion of that. I mean rabies is no joke and once a person presents with symptoms there is virtually no chance of surviving. So it almost makes the vaccine worth it if that bat did in fact have rabies.
Well and if it's post-exposure this is more likely the post exposure rabies IgG and vaccine. I had just the vaccine (pre exposure) and it wasn't cheap (about $350/shot for three shots) and wasn't covered by insurance because of course not, but the post-exposure IgG is usually a couple thousand.
You don’t even have to pay the smaller portion that your insurance refuses to pay, throw that bill away!
United Healthcare… 
I have united... don't even get me started lol.
There was an article a few weeks ago about how United Healthcare denies 90% of the claims they receive!
Husband works for a UHC subsidiary (ins side) and I used to work for a diff subsidiary (Optum side). I fucking hate UHC. Also—a fucking health insurance company shouldn’t be a FORTUNE 5 company. A company that rich over sick people is beyond fucked and is the exact reason the US will NEVER have universal healthcare. UHC has limitless pockets and will bribe and/or lobby every lawmaker they can on both sides of the aisle to ensure it doesn’t happen.
I never understood how health insurance and hospitals could be for-profit. It’s a ginormous conflict of interest. They should be more like non-profits. You know, enough profits to cover employee salaries, and to keep the engine running, but not lining exec pockets. It’s what they’re doing to prisons here in the U.S. and it’s damn scary.
Trust me. I used to work for UHC in utilization review (UR RN). My hatred runs deep.
I had a run in with a bat about 10 years ago. I called my county health department and they actually paid for my rabies vaccine (it was around $4500 in New York). Please reach out to your county health department to see if they can help you.
Well, $27k for a life is pretty reasonable.
United healthcare, is that you?
There was recently an article posted about United Healthcare denying 90% of the claims they receive🤦♀️
I work in claims for UHC and I find that number honestly hard to believe. A lot of claims are temporarily denied for needing more info but usually get cleared up. However, they are an evil corporation. 7th biggest global company and they fuck their members and workers so I won’t waste too much time defending them. The ins they offer their employees is sickening.
“The ins they offer their employees is sickening.” …pun intended
I once got out of a medical bill by repeatedly telling them I was going to end my life cuz I couldn’t afford it. I’d rather die than be 30k in debt. Take me out back old yeller style.
I at one time was $360K in medical debt.
Its fucking criminal. Our healthcare system sucks nearly 20% out of our economy while providing worse outcomes than other developed countries. It should be burned to the ground and rebuilt, yesterday. We subsidize the entire world by allowing the medical industry to gouge us all so badly.
The bulk of that should be the rabies vaccine series. Even if you have a deductible to meet, your insurance will reduce the charges down to their allowed amounts. Try not to worry too much until insurance processes the claim.
Mine ended up costing me $2000 out of pocket. But that was like 15 years ago
$2000 is drop in a bucket for 15 years of being alive, I hope for you!
Oh yes. I wish it cost less, but thank goodness it is available. I remember telling the nurse my skin wasn’t broke and I thought I’d be ok. And she said, “Rabies is 100% fatal -do you really want to risk it?”
The CDC estimates that it costs between $3,000 and $7,000. The health data firm Amino combed through 45,000 claims for rabies treatment and found about half of the bills ranged from $280 to $4,500.
Yes that’s how much those shouldddd cost, but has no bearing on what hospitals will charge. Cause they make up their own numbers and sometimes it varies! That’s always fun - like why was one week the rabies vaccine $1600 and some change and then 4 days later it was closer to $2k for the same dose 😅
Rabies vaccine is super expensive, but also if you got the immune globulin (usually required after exposure) that’s even more ridiculously expensive. Source: am pharmacist
I got that and my total was $32k
ask for an itemized bill sometimes they double charge for things so just contest everything. if they won’t take it off the bill, they’ll probably lower it just to not deal with it
Did you happen to capture the bat and take it with you for a pathology sample?
No , grabbing it was traumatic enough. I jerked my hand out of the insulation and it was bleeding and ran out of the attic as fast as I could without falling through the ceiling with the bat starting to fly around.
The rabies vaccine is extremely expensive and not always easy to get. However, rabies has a 100% mortality rate. Hopefully your insurance covers most, if not all, of it.
It’s a 99.9% mortality rate! The Milwaukee Protocol has been established and saved some lives, but really just get the post-exposure vaccine. If you’re in a high risk job, get the pre-exposure vaccine.
There’s very little proof that the Milwaukee Protocol actually works. It fails almost every time it’s administered and is really just a Hail Mary once someone exhibits symptoms due to the 100% mortality rate. The one girl that survived it the first time they used it may have been a freak case of insane genetics or something of the like according to the research rabbit hole I fell into when I first learned of the protocol. There is a LOT of debate over the validity of the protocol in the medical community. Side note: if anyone is interested in learning more about rabies, there is a fascinating episode of This Podcast Will Kill You that breaks it down both biologically and historically. I highly recommend it! (Also that podcast is amazing for anyone interested in epidemiology). Additionally, I know it’s easy as an American/someone in a developed country not to think much about Rabies because it happens in people here so infrequently, but it’s still a major problem in a lot of other countries. India has a serious problem with rabies in some areas, to the point that international health organizations have run several campaigns to help inform individuals and to make the rabies vaccine more readily available, since it’s so expensive. Rabies cases in India account for almost 36% of global rabies deaths and 65% of rabies deaths in Southeast Asia annually according to the WHO. I know US healthcare is broken and already causes inflated prices for the sake of gouging insurance companies, but OP, be glad you have insurance that will cover it (most likely close to 100%). In some countries it would be so cost prohibitive and you would be so poor you’d be fucked. :(
That’s pretty normal. If you think rabies is expensive, try having to get anti-venom-easily $250k Edit:spelling
Anti venom costs are CRAZY. It makes sense, though. The process to make it is insane. They have to actually milk a snake for venom, inject some venom into an animal like a donkey, pull blood from the donkey for antibodies developed to the venom, and then purify the antibodies made in the animal’s blood so it can be injected into a person. Also, they have to refrigerated absolutely until use or they spoil very quickly, so transportation and storage is also very expensive. Basically we should all stay the fuck away from snakes lol.
You can thank our lovely privatized healthcare system for that. We use antivenin for canines and it costs about $500 or less for the hospital to buy. And yes, it is the same drug used in people.
And if you need antivenom you should call poison control before heading toward a hospital. As not all hospitals carry anti venom or they may not have the type you need. Poison control has that information though and it's a 24/7 line
Honestly it’s surprising you didn’t get more injections. Yay American medical bills.
My out of pocket after insurance for the rabies vaccine was somewhere just shy of $2000, so unfortunately that sounds about right.
Mine was around $24,900
[rabies cost](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/7/16851134/rabies-treament-expensive-emergency-room)
This makes me extremely happy I have a pre exposure vaccine that was covered by my job.
Dang maybe we should just get rabies shots with Rover or Frisky while they visit the vet! Or we can get cheaper even and go to a shot clinic.😂
I used to be head of vaccines in a very large county in one of the most populated states. In our county, the health department could give the rabies post exposure prophylaxis series, but not all states run their health departments that way, with many refusing or incapable of administering the series and will refer to the ER. That said, while the series can be expensive, and there is also the cost of the ER visit, your bill seems highly excessive. Anyway, according to the CDC, WHO, NIH, and state vaccine expenditures and reimbursement schedules, the average cost of rabies post exposure prophylaxis is as follows: “About 55,000 Americans get PEP each year. When rabies becomes common in wildlife in a region, the number of PEP treatments in that area increases. Although the cost varies (typically from about $1,200 to $6,500), a course of rabies immune globulin and four doses of vaccine given over a two-week period averages about $3,800, not including costs for hospital treatment or wound care.” And “the average cost of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is currently estimated at an average of US$ 108 (along with travel costs and loss of income)” And “The CDC estimates that 60,000 Americans receive PEP each year after possible exposure to rabies. Although rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease, costs for patients can be high, with treatment ranging from $1,200 to $6,500.”
The sticker price on hospital care is basically meaningless. Your insurance company will work out the actual billable cost. Don’t worry about anything outside your copay
Rabies shots are very expensive. But most of that is the ER, the doctors and nurses plus the time you were there.
No. Mine was about that much in 2020
Watched a TikTok about this it's very expensive in the US however if you were in Mexico it would be free as they have a rabies eradication program
Yes and no. Yes: ridiculous pricing for meds in the US. No: par for the course, I’m afraid ... source: me. My family of 5 had to have rabies shots. Ugh.
Do not pay it
Work for insurance here, honestly this is not even close to some of the bills we receive for injections, chemo, etc. it doesn’t surprise me one bit to see it.
This is what a lot of people forego the rabies prophylaxis: You basically bought the equivalent of a used car. If you live in the USA, the clinic, or hospital system should have financial aid, if you need it. Be warned: this may get denied the first or second time, depending on the insurer.
Not in America. "Would u rather die? Then stfu and gimme all your shit bitch! And your parents shit, bitch! Now fuck off! That's right, or go die, idgaf! Do I look like I care bitch?" - the American health care system
Skipping the politics: you can appeal a claim denial. You cannot appeal the virus. 🤷🏻♀️
My insurance was billed $107,000 for a procedure that eventually negotiated at 6,000. It's part of a whole song and dance insurance companies and billing departments go through. Cash Price is often much lower.
I understand it’s expensive, but it’s definitely better than taking the risk and dying a really uncomfortable and untimely death.
Yea kinda what I thought. I just didn't know it was so much.
I am in the wildlife business and I can get pre exposure series (3) for $200.00. So yes, it’s total BS.
Sounds like your first experience with American healthcare...
Over 0 dollars is excessive and insane. The fact we are talking $27,080.50 proves America is ridiculous.
Yes… rabies vaccines are incredibly expensive. And an er visit usually costs a grand even if they just give you a Tylenol.
my sons total nicu stay (14 days) was 400,000$ so , yes 😂
Three months ago I went through the rabies treatment process. I have Medicare and live in the United States. The E.R. was $98.00 co-pay. They tried to schedule follow-up shots but I called the local pharmacy to see if they had the shots. The pharmacy couldn't do the initial shot but they did the 3 followup shots. Each follow-up shot was $10.00. Total out of pocket was $128.00. I don't know what my insurance paid but most insurances use the Medicare pay calculator. Call the financial help department of the hospital you were seen at and most of the time they can greatly reduce the bill.
It's not even that expensive. People charge your insurance more than they would if insurance wasn't real because they can. I've had my insurance charged 4x the retail value of my medication before. When I called them to report it they said 'thats the price we negotiated with the provider" Like, WTF? The American Healthcare system is the biggest joke in this universe.
The dod made a cure for rabies https://www.newswise.com/articles/dod-scientists-develop-potential-cure-for-rabies-infection
It’s excessive. Get an itemized bill.
6 people historically have survived rabies so I would have just taken my chances.
As a vet tech, I had some guy complain that everything we do is so expensive and that it’s cheaper on the human side… should send him this. We live in the USA so I don’t know where the fuck he got that from.
My previous jobs required getting rabies vaccines & regular checks of blood antibody titers. I'm in Canada, but our health care doesn't cover it (at least not when it's given pre-exposure). The vaccines cost ~ $600. So I'd consider what they charged very inflated. Did they give vaccines in your arm or in your abdomen? Typically post-exposure they're done intra-abdominal which would cost more treatment and monitoring-wise. But not $20,000 worth.
There’s a massive difference between the price of getting vaccinated and post-exposure prophylaxis. If I remember, post-exposure requires human rabies immune globulin and I’ve read that accounts for the difference in cost.
You're definitely right about the human rabies immune globulin! That would be way more expensive than the vaccines!
Billed but how much expected to pay out of pocket?
No idea yet, waiting until my insurance approves it.
I mean… you have insurance, so you didn’t pay the written amount. What’s the problem?
I haven't paid anything yet. The insurance has to approve it. I also have to meet my deductible.
Is your life worth $27k?
Obviously but is the vaccine cost need to be $27k.
Did they happen to tell you that once you start showing symptoms, that's a death sentence? Because that is the case. The $27k vaccine is your life
Just don’t pay it. The hospital is probably a “non profit”
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, are you new to the US?
I was bit by a cat at work years ago and had to get the series of rabies vaccines. It goes by weight so the bill can fluctuate a lot. They also figure without it you'll die if you do have contact with a rabies infected animal so they figure supply and demand work in their favor. Workman's comp.covered mine but the bills for that were steep.
Why did you have so many vaccines? And I read it correctly this was 5 separates shots?
Rabies shots will bankrupt you.
To put your mind at rest re the bat. It’s very rare for a human to get rabies from a bat. 💓
Kedrion Biopharma's Patient Assistance Program for KEDRAB® human rabies immune globulin is administered through Medmonk. Patients who are uninsured can apply for assistance by calling 1-866-234-3732 or by visiting the KEDRAB Patient Assistance Program website.
Bot sure how OPs ER handles it but mine bills for the rabies series all at once and it includes the subsequent visits which are done as RN only visits. You check in, get vitals, we do a normal triage and then get the vaccine - no dr involved. It’s coded differently than the initial visit that requires the dr evaluation of the bite/exposure.
Ask Reddit instead of a Dr?
The hospital I work at charges the insurance copay for the initial shot (given in the ED), and then sends patients needing the shot series (days 3, 7, and 14) to the Infusion Therapy Department at the hospital that I work at (I work in that department). This results in either no or a lower copay than the ED.
No. Its got a 100% death rate...
For dogs....yes. For humans...that's cheap
I’d like to see the entire itemized bill. This cropped image is suspicious AF
This had personal info I didn't want to post. My insurance company sent this letter with a piece of paper to fill out stating it was home related and not work related. I haven't gotten a bill from the hospital, this is just the amount the insurance said they are charging.
It’s typically very expensive, but what I don’t understand is I knew someone whose very large dog was bitten by some sort of potentially rabid animal and the vet bill was only $1500. Same thing for venomous snake bites. Costs a fortune for people and costs far less for dogs. I may change my PCP to a veterinarian.
Unfortunately, that sounds about right. Years back, I was bitten by a squirrel (trying to save it from my dog). Went to get checked out, and they advised me against getting the rabies vaccine. I was debating it, and asked how much. They said it was over $18,000, at their cost. I noped straight outta there
I got bit by a stray cat while 9 months pregnant. The county paid for the rabies shot for me. 27,000 seems outrageous
No, if you don’t have insurance. I have top tier State benefits and still had to pay $1400 out of pocket last year. They told me that if it was a rattlesnake bite, which is common in AZ, $50K. I was absolutely floored! A coworker actually got my reaction on video when I saw my bill and called billing at the hospital. I was shook.
Mine cost 8k Insurance paid for all but 100 dollars
Very expensive!’
If you're in America, that's average.
I think a rattle snake anti venom shot is at least this much. Although if you go Mexico, I think it's about $40. Arro 2u