according to this article (ugh! it’s an al jazeera link), the hospital markup on that antivenin is about 10x.
$2K vials of antivenin are passed along to the patient at a cost of $20K.
we do have a health care problem in this country, but obamacare was not the solution. greed, litigation, bureaucracy, etc... those are the problems that need fixing. an uninsured person getting bitten by a rattlesnake and facing $150K in medical bills is facing personal financial ruin. unless they are independently wealthy, that’s a staggering price for the bureaucracy to charge somebody. of course, insurance companies never pay those high prices. those invoices are inflated and nonsensical, but many people don’t know that and don’t dispute them. if you’re paying out of pocket, the hospital is giving you a bill they hope your enough of a sucker to just pay in full.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/09/17/you-got-a-10000-hospital-bill-now-what/
And everyone that can pay...pay's for that.
I speak from experience....I've seen many 100's of people that won't / can't pay..demand that hospitals treat them. People using the ER...as their primary physician.
I've seen illegal alien pregnant women...waiting until they were crowning...to present to an American hospital.
I've had patients that can't pay...admit to me...without prompting...they came to this hospital..because it's nicer than the County hospital.
I've seen illegal's that cost the hospital $4 million to take care of...and the hospital eats that cost.
So...we wonder why...a box of Klennex cost $7 in the hospital.
That all said....DRG's being what they are...for insured patients...hospitals only get a flat fee..for whatever ails them. Therefore, IMO...we are headed for RATIONED CARE. It's the end game....
RANT OFF