A WOMAN has been left with tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills after a surprising encounter with a bat.
The Massachusetts resident was traveling during the incident, which quickly turned dangerous not long afterward.
A woman has been forced to pay thousands in medical bills after a bat encounter (stock image)[/caption]
While in Northern Arizona in August 2024, Erica Kahn decided to take photographs of the night sky near where she was staying, per NewsNation.
In the middle of the snapshots a bat happened to fly between her and her camera, getting trapped, and partially flying into her mouth.
Bats happen to be the primary vector for rabies in the United States when comes to human infections, accounting for about 90% of them, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Not to mention, their bites can be so small they’re almost unnoticeable at times.
Additionally, rabies is almost 100% fatal after symptoms begin, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
That means those exposed, who interact with a bat, or who find one in their home must get post-exposure rabies vaccines almost immediately.
In Kahn’s case, she recently became unemployed and decided not to elect for Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) from the US Department of Labor.
COBRA allows Americans who lose employer-sponsored health insurance to extend it for a short period, typically around 18 months, still paying premiums and a 2% administrative fee.
Those who want it must sign up within 60 days, but Kahn didn’t because she was in good health and didn’t want to pay the costs.
After the bat encounter, Kahn opted for a private policy and went to get the rabies vaccine, being seen at a hospital in Arizona, Colorado, and Massachusetts for the series of shots given at different times.
She’d also confirmed with the insurer of the private policy that the emergency services were covered.
Still, Kahn started getting bills worth more than $20,000.
So, what happened?
Kahn signed up for the new policy so quickly to take care of the rabies vaccine that there wasn’t enough of a buffer for a 30-day waiting period of coverage on the plan.
Quick Rabies Facts
- Serious public health issue in over 150 countries
- Causes tens of thousands of deaths, 40% are children under 15
- Dogs cause 99% of cases and can be prevented through dog vaccination
- Nearly 100% fatal after clinical symptoms appear
- Prompt post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccine can stop the virus if administered in time
- Average PEP cost in US is $108
- Over 29 million people globally get rabies vaccine
- Global cost of rabies is estimated around $8.6 billion yearly
- Present on all continents except Antarctica
Credit: World Health Organization
Some health insurance companies have waiting periods because they prefer that people don’t buy plans until after something, like a bat in the mouth, occurs.
PAYMENT, PLEASE
Even so, it leaves unique situations like Kahn’s vulnerable to bills that can be worth thousands.
Waiting 30 days to start the vaccine process could’ve killed her, as rabies incubation can be as short as seven days.
Not to mention, experts have cited that healthy bats typically don’t fly into humans, making it highly likely the one that interacted with Kahn was infected.
Kahn has since gotten a new job, and was able to negotiate one of the several bills down by a few hundred dollars, but had to set up a payment plan for another.
Her appeals for the rest of the coverage denials are ongoing.
PROMISING PLATFORM
The US Sun also spoke with exclusively with Andy Schoonover, CEO of alternative health insurance provider CrowdHealth, earlier this year concerning outrageous hospital bills.
CrowdHealth specifically helps those who don’t have coverage and assists those looking for doctors, negotiating costs for services through a peer to peer approach.
So far, the company has helped some Americans save $40 million in outstanding medical bills.
Starting the company was personal for Schoonover, who was forced to pay $8,000 out-of-pocket for his daughter’s 15-minute procedure.
He also faced a $20,000 bill for an IV drip he bought on Amazon for $8.
Schoonover seeks to remind patients that they can negotiate.
“Patients have leverage to negotiate lower payments since hospitals are willing to accept lower payments over time to avoid a total loss,” he told us.
The CEO also slammed emergency room processes.
“Going to an emergency room and being charged an arbitrary amount is strikingly similar to price gouging during a natural disaster,” Schoonover argued.
“The key similarity is coercion under duress. In both cases, people are not making free-marketing decisions; they are making life-or-death decisions with no ability to negotiate or walk away.”
Millions of Americans are also in debt limbo after a judge blocked a popular policy involving medical bills last month.
Several patients have also been hit with new “facility fees” at the doctors office recently worth up to $1,000.
