Posted on 07/30/2015 9:26:59 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A metro woman was shocked when she received a $200,000 hospital bill after being bitten by a snake.
Diane Nelson says she was wearing rubber gloves and working in her yard when she came across a Copperhead with a short temper.
Diane had been pulling grass from around her bushes when she felt a sting.
“When I pulled my glove off, I had two marks on my finger,” she said.
It was a bite from a Copperhead snake.
Within hours, Nelson’s entire arm was swollen and she was rushed to the ICU in need of anti-venom.
“I was in ICU for about two days, 48 hours,” Nelson said.
Two days and 18 vials of anti-venom later, Nelson was able to go home. She later received her bill, which was nearly $200,000 just for the anti-venom.
“The anti-venom is actually an anti-body that is specific for the type of snakes we have here in Oklahoma,” said Scott Schaeffer, with the Oklahoma Center For Poison and Drug Information.“It’s a very expensive anti-venom to make.”
Schaffer says the anti-venom is expensive for several reasons.
“The snakes have to be milked and several types are milked to create a pool of venom,” he said.
It then goes through an extensive process to create the drug, which is all done in Australia.
It is then shipped to hospitals here.
Another reason is there is a low demand for the drug and most hospitals do not keep much of it on hand.
“The shelf life compared to other drugs is relatively short. So if it doesn’t get used, it has to be discarded,” Schaeffer said.
“I was shocked. I knew it would be expensive but not that expensive,” Nelson said.
Fortunately, Nelson found out her insurance will cover the cost.
“It saved my life so I can’t complain,” she said.
If you are bitten by a snake, there are things you should not do.
Experts say you should never try to suck the venom out. In fact, Schaeffer says that could actually make it worse.
Also, don’t use ice on the bite and don’t use a tourniquet to keep the venom from spreading.
Instead, go immediately to the hospital.
Officials say while July has been a busy month for snake bites, they’re actually seeing a pretty average number for the year.
And that mentality is exactly how they get away with it.
Don’t you know that a rattlesnake hatband will make you crazy? I never saw a Mojave Green when I lived in NM. I lived in Alamogordo and Soccoro. Went to NMIMT—loved it!
I love FL as well, but I miss the mountains and the high desert.
“Putting a tourniquet on will only exacerbate the biggest problem from most snake bites - swelling has been known to cut off blood supply to the point where amputation is necessary”
The swelling on both of my friends bites was so bad that the doctors made long incisions, slicing the skin open to relieve pressure. If they hadn’t of done that, the skin would have ‘popped’ or tore open. It is quite gruesome to see an appendage 3 or more times its normal size. As I mentioned earlier, they wanted to cut off my friends fingers and thumb, the swelling and necrosis was so bad. They did slice the skin to allow it to swell. It was the prickly pear pass that helped draw out the rotten stuff and protect it, much like a bandage made of Aloe.
“Also, there are Mojave Green’s they will literally pursue a human.”
Yep!!! Them suckers are VERY aggressive, and half the time they will not rattle. I have been chased by them. Not far, but they DO come at ya! I stepped on one in the garden while wearing sandals. I jumped backwards and it bit the bottom of my sandal. It never rattled the whole time up until I took its head off with my snake gun (.410)
I’m over in the southwest corner of the state, near where the Frisco and Gila meet. I figure those typically lower desert critters follow the river up from Safford. There are Gila Monsters that come up this way too.
No you can’t comparison shop at the time. But if the prices were available people could know ahead of time.
Our healthcare system is one big greedy scam, gouging the most vulnerable.
Clever google remark. I was responding to the comment that she would have died without treatment. Reading the whole thread is your friend, too.
There are places online where prices for various procedures by hospital are given for the whole country. But if I'm bitten by a snake or having a heart attack or in a car wreck I don't think I'm going to be telling the ambulance driver, "I know it's half an hour further away but County General is 20% cheaper for major heart attacks. Go there!"
BTW, the emergency room workers took the time to get information on who to bill and where to send it. They should have a pre printed sheet listing their fees that can be given to the supporting family member.
I have known people who went into the hospital, even via the emergency room ASKING what it was going to cost. No one had any earthly idea. They had no idea all through the stay even though asked repeatedly. Then like a miracle a few weeks after release they figured out, in detail, the OUTRAGEOUS cost. There was no choice by then.
Emergency or non emergency, they flat will not tell you the cost beforehand.
The problem I am describing is rampant. No other business can operate like that. It is shameful and takes advantage of the most vulnerable.
You can come up with a situation that does not fit. That does not excuse the big picture. The costs for hospital services are outrageous and they know it, hide, it, and gouge the most needy people.
BUMP.
Exactly how much negotiating are you going to do with Copperhead venom flowing through your body? My bet is “none”.
L
“The problem I am describing is rampant. No other business can operate like that. It is shameful and takes advantage of the most vulnerable.”
Isn’t that the truth! I am told I need a surgery and was referred to a university hospital. The specialist encouraged me to just go and at least meet the doctor who would do the surgery. I figured it couldn’t hurt anything. So I made the five hour drive to meet this guy. We talked for at the very most 15 minutes, but it was probably only like 10 minutes. I have received a multitude of bills from various doctors there just to meet the one single guy, totaling just under $600. It is a racket. I HATE these mother f***ers.
Florida has more trouble with exotics that dumb people bring in as pets. We have a colony of Tegu lizards a few miles from my house now:
They can grow up to four feet and can bite your finger clean off. They sell them as pets, and when people can't afford to feed them...
Good to have the first-hand experience laid out. My info is from listening to those who handle snakes and observation (saw a handler get bit at one of the rattlesnake roundups). Then there are the intangibles such as one’s personal susceptibility to the venom - some are less sensitive than others. I got bit by a brown recluse some years ago and the pictures on the internet show a guy with about 2 pounds eaten out of a gaping wound in his thigh. I had a small black pit and some redness around the bite. Got two doses of IV antibiotics because there were pink runners moving from it and the lymph nodes in my groin were swollen. It took a long time for the scar to go away (pit ended up about the size and depth of a dime), but no real nasty effects.
I’ve seen the swelling first-hand when a handler at a rattlesnake roundup got careless - scary kind of ugly and the best thing one can do for one bitten is to leave the wound alone and get them to medical help ASAP.
Yep. I told 'em exactly how much money I could pay, and told them if it exceeded that price to just send me away; That I wanted to know the price of everything before it was done; that I would sign a hold-harmless agreement not to sue them. They refused on all counts.
The cost of that little adventure is at # 38 above. They care more about protecting themselves from ambulance chasing lawyers than they do about helping people.
That sounds like my experience at UNM
Lovely
Agree.
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