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.
My brother was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre. This is a rare but extremely dangerous condition. He was given a very very very expensive drug by IV on a daily basis in the emergency room for more than a week. Each dose was more than $10,000. But....It saved him from being paralyzed and on a ventilator for more than a year.
So?....For my brother, who was never admitted to the hospital, the cost was over $100,000.
great joke.
seems like the 200k was just for the anti-venom. I wonder what the total bill was ?
I knew anti venom was expensive for dogs but I had no idea!!!
The things they tell you NOT to do are all the things they always told us TO DO in the past.
Which is my point. Who gets to put a price tag on this? Yes it was an expensive procedure. But the alternative could have been loss of limb or even death.
My brother is a vet, recently retired, he is the one who told me how expensive anti venom was for dogs.
“Would 18 doses of CroFab have been avail in a single payer system?”
Having insight into pharmaceuticals...nope. In fact, many drugs are becoming scarce or expensive. Expensive drugs with “short” a shelf life such as CroFab are not being stocked to save costs. I keep telling anyone who will listen that ACA (ObamaCare) is causing med costs to increase and availability to decrease. I’ve a doubling of costs just in the past three years for many meds.
As Obamacare marches onward “death panels” will.
OK, there are over 90 comments on this thread already, so i do not know if anyone has posted this important instructional video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_eBuhHF5s
Of course, it is from a left wing source so it may not have been posted yet! LOL!/s /satire /disclaimer Do NOT try this at home!!!!
LOL
I’ve been bitten on the foot by a cooperhead.
Did not receive anti-venom from the hospital I went to..
still cost me out of pocket 3K+ with 80% emergancy coverage, they only did blood test, marked the swelling, watched it for an hour or so. that’s it.
correct about the tourniquet - don’t want to contain venom in one area because it will do mass damage to less tissues as apposed to spreading lighter damage to more tissue.
She felt a sting - When the snake got me I felt loud painful pop, then after I flung the snake about 20 years it felt better. It felt OK for about 3 hours so I went to bed, but when I woke up I couldn’t stand up because it was so painful so I went to hospital. Doctor said give it 24 hours and it all downhill from there. Not in my case, it kept getting worse till eventual the swelling was above my knees and 3 days later, then it started to get better.
“Looks like they were right! “
Gee! They were here in the Fifties! Maybe AGW forced them to move further South!
In reality, we will probably find out no matter who wins. And Mr. Trump has been supporting single payer since 1999.
that's a fact.
BION, fifteen years ago I'd stock 2-3 vials as they cost back then $50 per vial. It takes 1-4 vials to properly treat a snake bite victim.
Free market - And no, the health/medical market is not free, nor has it been for many years. That it is so insanely expensive should be indicative that it is not governed by fair market value.
You mean establishments that routinely charge $8.00 for a Q-Tip? Who would EVER think they might be jacking up the price for serum?
So?....For my brother, who was never admitted to the hospital, the cost was over $100,000.
In your mind the one price justifies the other? In my mind it merely confirms the confidence game. These prices are altogether out of line. Beyond the pale. But, that they have y'all hoodwinked is all the evidence I need to know that prices will continue to spiral:
Lucky insurance picks up 3/4ths of the bill... [/s]
“Yeah, but I originally come from the land of the Mojave Green rattlesnake.”
There’s a variety/cross of those here where I’m at in New Mexico. The herpetologists say it isn’t so, but my friends who were bitten think otherwise! I have one in the fridge right now that I keep putting off skinning for a hat band. Those suckers are aggressive and VERY toxic!
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