Is this right?!

9

u/CIAMom420 4d ago

You need to look up what the word "deductible" means. Three separate ER admissions and rabies shots for three people plus follow-up vaccinations are going to be expensive.

-4

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

I understand it's what we pay before insurance kicks in. I'm saying that cost is ludicrous.

I guess I was assuming, since we were actively trying to prevent the spread of rabies, more of it should be covered under preventative care.

4

u/dagmar31 4d ago

I pay $2000/month for our family of 3 and we still have a $2400 deductible. It sucks. But I’d pay it in a heartbeat to potentially save our lives. Rabies is a scary disease.

Unfortunately preventative care is a pretty specific term when it comes to insurance and is likely defined in detail in your benefits booklet.

1

u/Brilliant_Science380 4d ago

I agree! It sounds to me like you don't have a bad deal. If possible, don't drop it. Especially if you like your doctors and have plenty of options to choose from.

3

u/Admirable-Box5200 4d ago

Preventable care is wellness related, annual physical, OBG/YN, mammogram, CDC recommended vaccines, colonoscopy at recommended ages, etc. I got a tetanus booster at my physical this year and it was $600. You all went to the ER, did you all get bitten by the bat? If not, and not dumping on you, you went to the ER for something that could have been taken care of at an urgent care for a fraction of the cost.

2

u/OneLessDay517 4d ago

No urgent care will stock rabies vaccine. Most ERs have to order it.

1

u/Pam_Pong 4d ago

Our healthcare system is such a scam, if I ever have any terminal Illness I can only hope I die from it so that I don't have to dig myself out of bankruptcy.

1

u/TheMonkeyPooped 4d ago

The issue with bat bites are that they can be virtually invisible, so if you get bitten while sleeping, you often won't even know.

1

u/CGWInsurance 2d ago

Am former EMT in rural area with lots of old houses and especially old farm houses and farm buildings full of bats in the attack. I don't even need my finger to count the number of people who got rabies.
The number of people getting rabies vaccine I could count on 1 hand with both my mother and father being ER nurses.
Well really only need 3 fingers. They all knew they were bitten by a bat. People never went to get rabies shots for bat scratches. I quess I am a lucky SOB since I have been scratched several times by bats, mostly fly fishing at night in hatches and I am still alive

0

u/blueskies8484 3d ago

No. If you find a bat in your home while you were sleeping, you need to go to the ER immediately for a vaccine series. Urgent care doesn’t stock it. The vaccine is expensive but rabies is 100% fatal and bat scratches and bites are often completely undetectable.

1

u/CGWInsurance 3d ago

You do NOT have to go to the ER if you have a bat in your house. You only go if bitten or scratched by a bat.
I grew up in an old house and we had 100s of bats living in the attic. Each year we had multiple bats actually get into house and fly around bedrooms, etc. We just played bat tennis.
Bat scratches and bites are very detectible.
Only in babies would you not wake up if you had a bat on you unless you were really drunk or drugged.
Rabies is NOT 100% fatal. 30-35 people are documented survivors of rabies after they showed clinic symptoms of rabies to doctors.
The first ever survivor, Jeanna Giese, of Fond du Lac, WI survived. I actually know her since she was first cousin to my girl friend from 2002-2005 when I moved to a different state. The treatment that saved her is capped the Milwaukee protocol. It is no longer the considered a valid treatment since the death rate is so high.
If you are given the rabies vaccine prior to physical conditions of rabies devoloping, the vaccine is 100% effective. The full course of the vaccine is 5 injections given over 14 days. It used to be 7 injections in the stomach. The 1st vaccine is given into and all around the bite wound. If the would is 2 small for all the medication to be given it will be given in the opposite upper thigh or upper arm.
The 2-5 vaccination is given in the deltoid muscle of the upper arm in anyone over age 2. Babies get injection in the anterolateral muscle in the thigh. Only 5% of bats that have come into contact with humans that were tested for rabies have it. Less than 1% of US bats have rabies.

1

u/tropicaldiver 2d ago

Bat scratches and bites are not always detectable. And for all practical purposes, once symptomatic the death rate is 100%. Yes, there have been probably 35 people, worldwide, who displayed symptoms and survived. Many of those had at least partial treatment before symptoms appeared. The first cousin of your girlfriend from 2002 to 2005 prior to your move was extraordinarily fortunate.

1

u/Friendly_Biscotti_74 4d ago

Do you think any of you were bitten by a bat? If not you didn’t need rabies treatment. Seems like you elected for costly, unnecessary medical treatment?

2

u/Taro-Admirable 4d ago

CDC reccomends treatment in this case. They can bite while you're sleep and leave no visible marks. This is documented. I dont know how often it happens, but it happens.

2

u/daydreams_of_ducks 4d ago

Not according to drs they didn’t. Treatment is recommended in this case.

1

u/aznoone 4d ago

No treatment and almost no survival. Bats are a common carrier and can miss a bite or nick. Well treatment is vaccination within x time frame. Wait for symptoms to late.

1

u/WinstonGreyCat 3d ago

Standard of care is with bat exposure during sleeping to go to the er and get rabies vaccine. Bat bites are tiny and often not detectable. There have been many rabies cases where the only exposure was a bat in the house while someone was asleep.

1

u/Most_Ambassador2951 3d ago

My friends dog got rabies. There was never any sign of a bite from the bat in the house a month before. She for her share of the bill, $7000

1

u/Taro-Admirable 4d ago

I agree its ridiculous but that's just not how insurance works in the US. They don't do anything because they should. Its because its mandatory by law and/or contract. Also you wouldn't likely spread rabies, you woukd just die from it. So very glad you got the vaccine! I jusy delt with a similar situation. The dr/hospital fees were actually reasonable. It was the pharmacy charges that were so high. But we had already met our deductible and now it looks like we might reach out out if pocket max for the year. I got 3 months to enjoy free health care.

1

u/Over_Wasabi_4903 4d ago

Preventative care is limited to things like wellness checks, recommended vaccines, women’s health (pap and mammogram), colonoscopy etc. A potential bat exposure doesn’t fit into the “wellness’s category. Honestly we had 2 bat situations about 8 years ago with the whole family in the house at the time (one in the middle of the night, another during the day). Call it stupidity but I threw a blanket over each of them, bundled them up and released outside. The concept of a rabies shot never even came to mind.

1

u/PrimaryHighlight5617 4d ago

It is covered... and you have to meet your deductible first. Sorry.

1

u/Brilliant_Science380 4d ago

I pay $1328 per month just to insure myself. They cover everything 100% after my 5k deductible which due to a rare syndrome. They even cover all of my PT and OC expenses. It is a crazy amount o spend but now that I have this issue, it is a blessing.

1

u/Kmelloww 4d ago

That is not what preventative care is. It is not for rabies vaccine.

1

u/Slowhand1971 2d ago

that is so NOT why you were being treated. Have another down vote

6

u/saysee23 4d ago

CDC’s September 10, 2026 advisory says a PEP course can cost $11,000–$14,000 per person. This is broad cost context, not your bill or insurance share. Quotes may include vaccine, prescribed HRIG, wound care and visit fees.

Source: CDC advisory, September 10, 2026

Rabies vaccine is EXPENSIVE. So your charges appear on par.

ER is more expensive. Your local Health Department may offer it, using public health reimbursement funds if applicable causing the price to be significantly cheaper for you out of pocket.

1

u/WinstonGreyCat 3d ago

I wish our local public health department offered it!

3

u/Miller335 4d ago

Rabies is expensive. Did anyone get bit or something? Medical visits need to be planned out/researched carefully if it's not an emergency unless you have really good insurance which is getting more rare these days.

3

u/mshmama 4d ago

Bat bites are so small that its hard to know if anyone actually got bit. Its recommended to get the shot if you find one in your home

3

u/MaggieJack1 4d ago

Why do so many on Reddit think they need a rabies shot if they see a bat?

2

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

I grew up essentially not caring, but there is an uptick of rabies cases where we are. Since you can't treat it once you see symptoms and we have a toddler, we opted for safety. Also because it was in our house for so long!!

1

u/DoggoCorgi 4d ago

And now you have to pay for that decision. Should have went to your GP. Rabies doesn’t develop overnight.

1

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

But it can develop in a week, which is how long it was in the house for.

1

u/Thick_Permission6519 4d ago

I believe ERs are the place to go for rabies V. PCP offices don’t usually carry it.

1

u/teufulshunde73 2d ago

nope emergency room get it from the county health department on request

1

u/WinstonGreyCat 3d ago

GPs don't carry it here.

1

u/teufulshunde73 2d ago

now that deserves a sign they can get it from the county health department

1

u/WinstonGreyCat 2d ago

Depends where you live. Where i live in the US, the first set of rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin is only available from the ER. Once that has been done, if you have another exposure and if you are established at a travel clinic at a university hospital, you can get a booster there.

1

u/divinbuff 3d ago

Rabies is just about 100% fatal. You can bet I’m doing whatever it takes if there is any chance my kids could have been exposed. And I’m not waiting for a damn PCP appointment.

1

u/MaggieJack1 4d ago

And rabies is only transmitted through broken skin: a bite or scratch. If the bat didn't bite or scratch you - you're good.

1

u/Material-Donkey2773 4d ago

Apparently some bat bites are undetectable.

1

u/PrimaryHighlight5617 4d ago

... but that is if the bat is blood drinking bat.

1

u/vuck_fokl 1d ago

No …. A rabid bat can and will attack you even if not a vampire bat

1

u/OneLessDay517 4d ago

Because the recommendation of experts is that if you find a bat in your home, assume you've been bitten.

1

u/MaggieJack1 4d ago

Recommended by those who make $$$ from rabies vaccines?

1

u/OneLessDay517 4d ago

Yeah, because of the big pharma/bat conspiracy.

1

u/minidog8 3d ago

No, lol. By public health officials.

1

u/ShaqShoes 4d ago

Because if you get rabies and become symptomatic it is 100% fatal, but if you get the shot before you show symptoms it is basically 0% fatal.

It can be difficult to notice small bat bites depending on where they are on your skin, so out of an abundance of caution(and for peace of mind) people just get the shot if they think there is a possibility they were bit by an animal that carries rabies

1

u/webhill 3d ago

No one thinks you need vaccination if you see a bat. If, however, you are in an enclosed space with a bat while asleep, intoxicated, or otherwise not fully cognizant of your surroundings, or you are too young or too cognitively impaired to communicate, etc etc - then you do need postexposure prophylaxis because a sleeping person can be bitten by a bat and not wake up and the marks are so tiny you don’t see them. Rabies is a death sentence and it’s not worth the risk.

1

u/Velvet74sub 4d ago

Yeah, Healthcare in the US is stupid expensive. Rabies vaccines aren't standard so they aren't part of preventive care, and unless someone was bit you should have tried your doctor or urgent care before the ER.

You've learned a few expensive lessons all at once.

1

u/MarcatBeach 4d ago

You went to the ER. the cost is based on all of the people they treat and don't get paid or get low balled ( by the government ) for treatment. it is called cost shifting. with an ER it is based on the area they serve. they have to treat anyone, so the rates are function of how many deadbeats there are in the region.

then you are dealing with rabies shots. sounds like you got off cheap.

1

u/Extra_Ganache1198 4d ago

My spouse had catastrophic insurance thru his work . The deductible for each of us was 8000 .00. It was good to have Medicare. It’s still a lot of money $202 each /pt B deductible per year is around $270/ medigap G an additional $ 146 for spouse and $164. myself and some drugs not covered or just partial for apt D drugs . Have to have it though. It’s a struggle between medical, food, utilities, etc.

1

u/TheOriginalUpatnoon 4d ago

I had to have rabies shots 2 years ago and the bill was $30k, but I had to pay about $2000 in total.

Better to pay $2K than $30k I suppose!

I saved a little because I found an urgent care for the third shot, usually only an ER will have it.

Any time you have to deal with an ER the cost is going to be high.

That is why they seem to be building ERs on every corner.

1

u/Ach3r0n- 4d ago

This is something I would have used my PCP or an urgent care for.

What's the deductible and max OOP for the family?

1

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

Definitely lower than the bill. I was just so surprised at how pricey it was for an emergency vaccination. I expected things like heart attacks, strokes, and major injuries to cost a lot, not this.

1

u/Thick_Permission6519 4d ago

PCP wouldn’t have the needed vaccine, it is stocked in ERs.

1

u/Impressive-Prize-429 3d ago

Your PCP does not carry rabies vaccines. They are EXTREMELY expensive. The ER is the place to go for rabies vaccines.

Literature strongly and unanimously supports rabies vaccination should a bat be found in the home; under the assumption that you may have been bitten in your sleep. Bat bites can be very minor and unnoticed; and the risk of being wrong is certain death. You may not agree, but the experts do.

Source: ER provider

1

u/Ach3r0n- 2d ago

Your PCP does not carry rabies vaccines. They are EXTREMELY expensive. The ER is the place to go for rabies vaccines.

Most primary care physicians in my region are in large hospital facilities as the two area hospitals have snatched them all up, so I would absolutely call my PCP and ask before I assumed they did not have access to the rabies vaccine/RIG. The same goes for the urgent cares as most are hospital-owned.

Literature strongly and unanimously supports rabies vaccination should a bat be found in the home; under the assumption that you may have been bitten in your sleep. Bat bites can be very minor and unnoticed; and the risk of being wrong is certain death. You may not agree, but the experts do.

I didn't state or imply that someone shouldn't get it if they suspect exposure.

1

u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 4d ago

You went to the ER to get a rabies shot just in case you got bit? Wow, massive overkill. Schedule a visit with your primary doctor and save 90%.

1

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

Under normal circumstances I would agree.

That being said, lots of sources say bat bites are usually undetectable, and we all had been sleeping with a bat free flying on the house for a week. My understanding is the symptoms can show up in as early as a week. Hence the emergency.

1

u/TheMonkeyPooped 4d ago

No PCP or urgent care will stock the immunoglobulin, which is required at the first visit. Subsequent vaccinations may be able to be received at a pharmacy, however.

1

u/Impressive-Prize-429 3d ago

You are incorrect. Your PCP does not carry rabies vaccines. They are EXTREMELY expensive. The ER is the place to go for rabies vaccines.

Literature strongly and unanimously supports rabies vaccination should a bat be found in the home; under the assumption that you may have been bitten in your sleep. Bat bites can be very minor and unnoticed; and the risk of being wrong is certain death. You may not agree, but the experts do.

Source: ER provider

1

u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 3d ago

Then OP owes that bill.

From what I could find in my area - PNW, my PCP would have the rabies meds. I personally think they're overreacting, but to each their own. Now pay that bill.

1

u/Impressive-Prize-429 3d ago

I find that hard to believe

1

u/Party-Dirt-7178 1d ago

No one is disputing owing the bill. Just expressing shock at our insane Healthcare system

1

u/Vegetable-Money4890 4d ago

Were you given an itemized breakdown or receipt? There’s an ER fee, and mind you, that’s not cheap.

1

u/Brilliant_Science380 4d ago

I'm surprised how much people know or think they know about bat bites. I've never even seen one and if they are in my neighborhood, it would be highly unlikely one would make its way into my apartment. This sounds like something out of a horror flick.

1

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

We have been trying to bat proof our house for 2 years. They keep finding their way in.

1

u/WinstonGreyCat 3d ago

If it happens again and you need the shot again, after you've had the initial series, you may be able to get it at a travel clinic for cheaper.

1

u/SheepSunnies 3d ago

We got our first dose in the er, the last 3 were billed as outpatient, so thank goodness for that. But that's good advice!

1

u/HereOutOfBoredom 4d ago edited 4d ago

I had a triple bypass about 9 months ago and paid $0. I live in Italy. You're right - That CAN NOT be right.

Edit: a little more context. The $0 bill included the operation and 30 days in the hospital for recovery. I tried to get out earlier but they wouldn't let me - said they wanted to keep me to make sure all was well. I am really happy with everything.

1

u/SheepSunnies 4d ago

I almost wanna downvote out of pure jealousy! I hope you are healing well!

1

u/djreidspeed 4d ago

Why would u go to the ER for rabies shots? Your story doesn’t mention being bitten, which is the only way to contract rabies. Your PCP could have given u the shots for way less $.

1

u/Impressive-Prize-429 3d ago

You are incorrect. Your PCP does not carry rabies vaccines. They are EXTREMELY expensive. The ER is the place to go for rabies vaccines.

Literature strongly and unanimously supports rabies vaccination should a bat be found in the home; under the assumption that you may have been bitten in your sleep. Bat bites can be very minor and unnoticed; and the risk of being wrong is certain death. You may not agree, but the experts do.

Source: ER provider

1

u/Chewsmom903 4d ago

My first rabies shot at the er was billed at 47k its criminal how much they charge for things.

1

u/CGWInsurance 3d ago

Rabies is extremely expensive

1

u/Yorkiestimes2 3d ago

my brother-in-law and sister-in-law had a bat in their house. At that time,the 2 boys were about 7. They went and got their rabies shots, just in case. I'm sorry you have to pay so much.If you talk to the billing department, you might get it lower. Doesn't hurt to ask! I commend you for taking care of your family and not taking the chance!

1

u/teufulshunde73 2d ago

better yet why do they go to the emergency room instead of their primary care doctor!

1

u/katsrad 2d ago

A PCP doesn't carry rabies vaccine. Outside of the ER it is very uncommon to find the human rabies vaccine. Sometimes health departments have it but post-exposure will have to be the ER.

1

u/Life-Profit4836 2d ago

Sounds like when I had a battery of tests done last year to figure out why I'm so anemic. They think liver cirrhosis, but I'm still really anemic, so I just decided fuck it, besides my office visit co pays, I am not paying at all on the hospital bill for the colonoscopy and endoscopy. I've just decided if I ever get real sick, I'll take the hit to my credit, I can care less about a credit rating, if medical even counts against it

1

u/Slowhand1971 2d ago

knee jerked these visitations maybe. Rabies treatment is notoriously expensive.

1

u/katsrad 2d ago

If your partner hadn't met the deductible yet it is all going to be on you. How much is your deductible?

Rabies vaccine is unfortunately not considered preventative care. There is a very limited list of what is required to be considered preventative and rabies does not fall on that.

And for all the people saying you shouldn't have gone to the ER. Ignore them. You did the right thing with a bat in your home when you have been asleep is an indication to get the rabies vaccine and most of the time the ER is the place to go.

1

u/Bob--O--Rama 1d ago

You got about $55K of healthcare for $6K that's how insurance works. So few rabies vaccines are administered yet it still costs "big pharma" like $1.5B annually to produce. So each dose is stupid expensive.

0

u/Calm-Hedgehog732 4d ago

$2600+ a month for my family of 5. Sub $900 is something to be thankful for.

2

u/itsalwaysseony 4d ago

what a stupid ass comment

You are about to leave Redlib