how a snake bite from a summer camp turned into a $ 142,938 medical bill / Boing Boing

Last July, Oakley Yoder, a nine-year-old girl, was bitten by a venomous snake while she was at the Jackson Falls Vacation Camp, in the middle of the night. Illinois: the initial bill for his salary was $ 142,938.

A big chunk of this was for the air ambulance: $ 55,577.64. But the biggest item on the bill was $ 67,957 for four bottles of antivenom from UK pharmaceutical monopolist BTG Plc, whose product, Crofab, was selling for $ 3,198 in the United States (a Mexican rival who can be imported legally costs $ 200 / dose).

St. Vincent Evansville Hospital has marked the antivenom (already increased by 16,000%, from $ 200 to $ 3,198) to $ 16,989.25, or 500% more, or 85 times the price that Yoder and his insurer would have paid in Mexico.

The family insurer, IU Health Plans, negotiated the overall price at $ 107,863.33, and a supplemental health insurance plan underwritten by the family for the summer camp covered 7,286, $ 34 additional costs. The family had nothing to pay (but each insured person will eventually pay a little more for his future premiums in order to make sure that IU and his competitors remain extremely profitable).

The FDA has since approved another Mexican antivenom product called Anavip, which will cost $ 1,220; the product's entry into the US market was delayed six years due to a patent claim filed by the monopolist BTG Plc, whose settlement contributed to the high price of Anavip, which includes now a fee paid to BTG for each vial sold, until BTG's patent expires in 2028.

Potential government action on the price of drugs is gaining momentum. In the states and in Congress, various proposals have been made, including allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, linking the price of expensive drugs to the average price of other developed countries, and allowing the government to introduce drug prices. competition in any market – such as speeding up generic approvals or allowing imports from other countries.

Summer Bummer: Snake bite of $ 142,938 for a young camper [Shots/All Things Considered]

(via naked capitalism)

(Image: St Vincent Evansville / Facebook)

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