Man Takes Selfie With Rattlesnake And Ends Up With $150,000 Medical Bill

Megalith

Megalith

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Would you believe that taking selfies with dangerous animals could end up very badly? Maybe he should have used a selfie stick.

While you might rail against the iniquities of the US medical system, I will continue to focus on the nonsense of taking selfies with animals who have a clear disinterest in having their picture taken.
 
Hospital should have said the anti-venom was all out. Sorry, nothing we can do.
 
How can a single snakebite "deplete the antivenom supplies at two hospitals". What would they have done if several people had gotten bit?
 
LigTasm said:
Hospital should have said the anti-venom was all out. Sorry, nothing we can do.
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But why, when they can collect 150G.

But I'm sort of the type that follows the line of "just let the stupid people die off"
 
ocellaris said:
What would they have charged the guy if he was an illegal alien?
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They would have charged the illegal just the same. Remember, hospitals don't hold up treatment waiting on money, they just bill you afterward. The only difference is the illegal would just toss the bill in the trash on the way out of the door, and they would have no reasonable way to ever collect any of that money.
 
GotNoRice said:
They would have charged the illegal just the same. Remember, hospitals don't hold up treatment waiting on money, they just bill you afterward. The only difference is the illegal would just toss the bill in the trash on the way out of the door, and they would have no reasonable way to ever collect any of that money.
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Good breakdown of how the cost gets so high over on Reddit, I believe it covers the fact that people throwing the bills in the trash raise the bill for everyone else which in turn causes more people to throw it in the trash:

https://np.reddit.com/r/pics/commen...cost_of_a_rattlesnake_bite_in_america/ct71jme
 
GotNoRice said:
How can a single snakebite "deplete the antivenom supplies at two hospitals". What would they have done if several people had gotten bit?
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Antivenom is not exactly in large supply anywhere, and some bites require different dosages.
 
Of this, more than $83,000 was for "pharmacy."

:rolleyes:

The USA health system is truly "criminal".
 
GotNoRice said:
How can a single snakebite "deplete the antivenom supplies at two hospitals". What would they have done if several people had gotten bit?
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It seems odd but it is very costly $2000 - $3000 per vial and they might need a dozen or more vials to treat one person. So that is $24,000 - $36,000 worth of antivenom at the very least, more depending on the type of snake bite and how bad it is. Then on top of that it has a very short shelf life, I am thinking a few months if that. So they aren't going to want to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth to keep throwing it away every few months. So most look at how many snake bites they treat a year and how long it stays on the shelf and keeps what would be a reasonable amount to have on the shelf then so that they have some and might have to toss out a few vials if nobody gets bite during that batch's shelf life. But not be keeping a lot of extra on hand. So in a case like this, if multiple hospitals in an area keep some on stock they can just get some from another place if they need extra. That keeps then multiple hospitals from worrying about having too much as if I carry 1/2 of what I would need for a bite that might happen once every few months and you carry 1/2 of what is needed. As long as we know that we don't normally treat people at the same time I can give you what I have and you can give me what you have if either of us really needs it. that keeps the cost of treatment down, helps with the limited supply of antivenom out there from being wasted in the wrong areas, and prevents supplies on the shelf from going to waste. However yes there is always the case that two people get bite at the same time and they have trouble getting enough for both people right away. But there is always going to be a limit of some type. What if 10 people at a party all get shot and need surgery right away in a small town with a 25 room hospital and 1 surgeon? Should the hospital hire more surgeons for the extremely off chance that happens?
 
What have we learned kiddies?

This guy is dumb. Our Medical system is even dumber. And greedier.

$83,000 for Pharmacy. Fucking Jackals.
 
that is insane.... pharmacy. I wonder if he could have chosen to not get the therapy.
 
It seems america is pretty much the only first world country where you can choose to die from your wounds if you can't pay them or live with a lifetime of debt.
Oww i broke my leg... now i won't be able to afford that corvette.
 
GotNoRice said:
How can a single snakebite "deplete the antivenom supplies at two hospitals". What would they have done if several people had gotten bit?
Click to expand...

because the bites themselves are rather rare and usually there is time to restock and so only commonly found in the area and since the antivenom does not keep forever and is made from that venom it is expensive to stock and when an area only gets 1 event a year why would they stock multiple doses of a perishable that could be used elsewhere more vitally.

Also a given snakebite can require more antivenom than just strictly one dose rattlesnakes are a snake that has a relatively high volume of venom vs say a coral snake which is highly toxic but much lower volume of venom...

And it is pretty neat how the antivenom is made

Antivenom is created by milking venom from the desired snake, spider, insect, or fish. The venom is then diluted and injected into a horse, sheep, rabbit, or goat. The subject animal will undergo an immune response to the venom, producing antibodies against the venom's active molecule which can then be harvested from the animal's blood and used to treat envenomation.

The antivenom is then frozen and shipped based on demand so a big city where there are few snakes might only get 0-1 doses where as a rural area or zoo would have more doses... And consider for most native species the appropriate antivenom can be moved where it is needed within a short period of time by ambulance or helicopter if necessary...
 
gxp500 said:
It seems america is pretty much the only first world country where you can choose to die from your wounds if you can't pay them or live with a lifetime of debt. ...
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America has a 1st world country healthcare, but a 3rd world care delivery system.

But that criticism aside, this guy was dumber than a bag of hammers!
 
damicatz said:
The same antivenom costs $559 a vial for dogs.

http://www.allivet.com/p-2673-antiv...9wKGRz1NuDgeeaA5_BIx8Iw9J2SYWSlrcgBoCzVnw_wcB

Once again, government rape it's subjects by making medical care unaffordable through burdensome regulations and crony capitalism.
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Sorry, gov't didn't regulate medical institutions to bill doctors/hospitals the way they do.
If you do your research, there have been reports that show strong disparities between different hospitals, and the way they bill their patients for identical procedures.

In this case, really, gov't has nothing to do with it.
 
as a canadian, i have never had to check my bank balance before thinking about going to the hospital.

that is just amazing.
 
GotNoRice said:
How can a single snakebite "deplete the antivenom supplies at two hospitals". What would they have done if several people had gotten bit?
Click to expand...

Snakes choose how much venom to inject on a bite per bite basis. A lot of human snake bites are 'dry' or have little venom in them.

This guy must have really pissed off the snake and got every ml it had.
 
As someone who lives in a country with universal healthcare, I find the cost of medical care in the U.S. To be hilarious and sad .... Mostly sad.
 
And somewhere is a lawyer planning a lawsuit because the device with the camera didn't include a warning "Do not use to take selfies involving wild animals as death or injury may occur."
 
Lunas said:
because the bites themselves are rather rare and usually there is time to restock and so only commonly found in the area and since the antivenom does not keep forever and is made from that venom it is expensive to stock and when an area only gets 1 event a year why would they stock multiple doses of a perishable that could be used elsewhere more vitally.

Also a given snakebite can require more antivenom than just strictly one dose rattlesnakes are a snake that has a relatively high volume of venom vs say a coral snake which is highly toxic but much lower volume of venom...

And it is pretty neat how the antivenom is made

Antivenom is created by milking venom from the desired snake, spider, insect, or fish. The venom is then diluted and injected into a horse, sheep, rabbit, or goat. The subject animal will undergo an immune response to the venom, producing antibodies against the venom's active molecule which can then be harvested from the animal's blood and used to treat envenomation.

The antivenom is then frozen and shipped based on demand so a big city where there are few snakes might only get 0-1 doses where as a rural area or zoo would have more doses... And consider for most native species the appropriate antivenom can be moved where it is needed within a short period of time by ambulance or helicopter if necessary...
Click to expand...

So, you say it's the Horses and Goats charging all that money for the anti-venom.

I knew it. Bastards.
 
As an American I've never had to check my bank account balance before receiving treatment, i've also have never been put on waiting list or denied treatment I thought I needed. Of course I make sure my family and I have insurance, I'm sure it's not as exciting at buying a new iPhone every year but it comes in handy. Our government screws up everything it touches, sure don't want them messing with my healthcare.
 
supernac said:
Our government screws up everything it touches, sure don't want them messing with my healthcare.
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When I see people say things like this it reminds me of folks during the Obamacare debates in the summer of 2009 protesting that government needed to stay out of Medicare. That was the point where I started to believe that cynicism and distrust of government in the country was becoming counter-productive.

The US has three budget items that rule all the rest by far. Medicare, Social Security and the military. As much as many love to obsess over out of control spending and power-hungry government that doesn't listen, these three items account for overwhelming majority of public spending at the federal level and are overall very popular and why we spend so much money on them.
 
heatlesssun said:
The US has three budget items that rule all the rest by far. Medicare, Social Security and the military. As much as many love to obsess over out of control spending and power-hungry government that doesn't listen, these three items account for overwhelming majority of public spending at the federal level and are overall very popular and why we spend so much money on them.
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Although, I'm not sure medicare/social security spending should even be compared to military spending. The latter is worlds above the other two, or rather most of all of our other budget combined.
 
Uh Social Security is paid for by the person who uses it in the years leading up to it. That money shouldn't be used for anything else.
 
Spidey329 said:
Although, I'm not sure medicare/social security spending should even be compared to military spending. The latter is worlds above the other two, or rather most of all of our other budget combined.
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Not arguing this. My point is that when people bitch and complain about government spending and bash the hell out of welfare mammas or NASA they aren't anywhere close to really where the money goes. And the money is in things that are so popular some don't realize they're actually government programs, even people that hate government otherwise.
 
Skillz said:
Uh Social Security is paid for by the person who uses it in the years leading up to it. That money shouldn't be used for anything else.
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Social Security is a more of a pay as you go program. The money workers are putting in to today is mostly going directly to current recipients.
 
Spidey329 said:
Although, I'm not sure medicare/social security spending should even be compared to military spending. The latter is worlds above the other two, or rather most of all of our other budget combined.
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Learn the facts:
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

Out of the $3.79 trillion dollars spent in this current fiscal year, social security and medicare are the top expenses, totalling 61% of the entire budget. Military is a distance third at 15%.
 
heatlesssun said:
Not arguing this. My point is that when people bitch and complain about government spending and bash the hell out of welfare mammas or NASA they aren't anywhere close to really where the money goes. And the money is in things that are so popular some don't realize they're actually government programs, even people that hate government otherwise.
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Do you know anyone on Medicare? The coverage is so poor your forced to buy insurance for the stuff that isnt covered. The payouts to the doctors are so low that every year congress has to pass a "Dr fix" bill to pay the dr's more. If they don't dr's would stop taking Medicare patient's. And this for a program that most pay into every paycheck for their entire working career. Social security by design is a ponzi scheme, the money you put in goes to a current recipient, this works fine so long as there are more people working than people getting a check.
 
supernac said:
Do you know anyone on Medicare? The coverage is so poor your forced to buy insurance for the stuff that isnt covered.
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My mother is on Medicare. I'd love to see private insurance that would do better for what it does for an 88 year old.
 
damicatz said:
Once again, government rape it's subjects by making medical care unaffordable through burdensome regulations and crony capitalism.
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Burdensome regulations like forcing people to go through corrupt insurance middlemen rather than treating health care as a basic public service?

I love how conservatives complained that health care reform would 'put a bureaucrat between you and your doctor' when it's obvious that corruption is completely out of control. How do you think we ended up spending nearly 20% of our GDP on health care while the rest of the western world is closer to 10%? Those free-market insurance middlemen seem to be doing everything they can to keep health care expenses high and hidden from view. It wouldn't surprise me at all if another hospital in the area could have provided the same anti-venom treatment this guy needed for a few hundred dollars. Good luck shopping around while you're dying though.

Our specialized medicine outcomes aren't particularly great, you might be 1-3% less likely to die from skin cancer or stomach cancer here... and we do very poorly on more basic things like reducing infant mortality. Before it went bankrupt Newt Gingrich's healthcare think tank pushed the 'US patients are happier with their outcomes' meme, but it turned out that it was based on cherry-picked polling and not actual outcome data. Every way you look at it the guys defending the private system are full of shit. Where's all our money going?
 
mynamehere said:
They'd charge an illegal $0 and then hand the American taxpayers a bill for $150k. :mad:
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You all realize that even illegals still get billed. They don't magically get ignored when that comes up. Also, I just want to point out that you people seem more concerned about the finances of the situation rather than it saving people's lives. Just sayin'
 
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