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The family of a 9-year-old girl who was bitten by a snake at a summer camp in Illinois last July has accumulated a medical bill of $ 142,938. They will not have to pay a dime, but history shows some of the extreme costs of health care.
According to Kaiser Health News, a non-profit organization, Oakley Yoder was allegedly bitten by the snake believed to be a Copperhead. They knew that time was running out and Yoder had been flown to the hospital.
Yoder was able to return home 24 hours later thanks to four bottles of antivenom called CroFab. But the cost was huge. Kaiser says that the CroFab cost $ 67,957 and the air ambulance cost $ 55,577.64, the rest of the money – $ 24,403.36 going to the land ambulance costs, of Hospital and doctor.
Kaiser says the price charged to the family for CroFab was well above the posted average price of $ 3,198 per bottle. The hospital reportedly charged $ 16,989.25 per bottle to Yoder's family. The hospital reportedly later said the family would be charged $ 3,500 for the antivenom.
Kaiser says CroFab has dominated the US market since 2000 and is the only antivenom available to Yoder. Another Mexican-based antivenom, Anavip, would be on the market much cheaper, but it has not received FDA approval for all types of snake bites.
In the end, the insurance company Yoders negotiated down the price and ended up paying the remaining bill, so the family did not pay anything out of pocket.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that between 7,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States. About five of those who are bitten die.
Learn more about the manufacture of the antivenom and why it is a multinational process for CroFab at this link.
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