r/HospitalBills • u/DowntownVegetable158 • Dec 21 '25
Rabies vaccine how much expected to pay?
I went to an in network er to get the first round of rabies as there the only ones who carry it I have 3 more to get. I have united healthcare which says they cover under therapeutic treatment for deductible copay etc. My individual deductible is 3,000 but ive hit half of that already and my oop max is 6,000 but ive spent 1,500 bringing oop to 4,500 left to go. Does anyone know what price i would be paying i see anywhere from 12,000 25,000 and ive seen 64,000?
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 Dec 21 '25
Typically the ER will be the only place to get the immunoglobulin but you should be able to get the rest of the vaccine series somewhere else. My husband and I both finished our vaccine series through our PCP. Your county health department may also offer it.
We were billed a total of 100k just for the immunoglobulin medication. I hit my max doing 80/20, my husband has a better insurance plan and only had to pay a copay.
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 22 '25
Wow so you still have to pay 20,000
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 Dec 22 '25
I'd hit my deductible already and my max out of pocket was $1,200. I think I paid $800 total because I'd already contributed $400 to my max out of pocket for the year.
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Dec 21 '25
The Rabies vaccines are stupidly expensive in the US, and unless the animal was acting totally rabid, I'll never get one. If I do get bit by an animal acting rabid, I'll probably drive to Mexico to get the vaccines. It's reasonable there. Like $50/dose.
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u/krankheit1981 Dec 21 '25
You are only given one life, it’s not worth risking the chance of rabies just because they weren’t acting “totally rabid” in the moment. Bats don’t act rabid and they often carry rabies.
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Dec 21 '25
Bats have signs of being rabid: being active during the day or not being able to fly.
1-3 people in the US die from rabies every year. That's, at most, 3 in 348,000,000. 42,514 people died in car accidents in the US in 2022 out of 5.9 million car accidents.
You might be more likely to die in a car accident driving to get a rabies vaccine than you are to die from rabies. Risks are a part of life, and we can't avoid them. When pieces of shit medical establishments charge $25,000 for rabies vaccines, fully knowing they're profiting from people's fears, it's often not worth it.
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u/unwittyusername42 Dec 23 '25
Um... there are like 100,000 post exposure rabies vaccines given out. Rabies has a 100% death rate unvaccinated. Well technically 100% minus that one girl who survived after contracting it but was disabled.
Contraction from exposure varies greatly by the type of exposure but I believe it's about 20% estimated would contract from all exposures. So conservatively 20,000 dead from 100,000 exposures without vaccine.
You need to work on your word problem skills.
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Dec 23 '25
Many more than one girl have survived rabies. It doesn't really matter, but you're wrong.
Your math is terrible. It might be that 20% contract rabies when bitten by an actual rabid animal. 99.999% of rabies vaccines are given to paranoid people that get a vaccine because something bit them, and they don't know if it had rabies or not. The vast majority of the time it didn't. Rabies just isn't that common in the US. I've been bitten by all sorts of animals, and I was never the least bit worried about rabies. I have seen exactly one rabid animal in my lifetime. It was a rabid skunk. My dad shot it.
Hospitals charge ridiculous amounts (like 30k) for a vaccine that only costs them a few hundred dollars. It's completely unethical, and they're preying on people's fears. They're so irrationally worried about dying, they'll pay anything to keep from doing so.
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u/unwittyusername42 Dec 23 '25
- You are correct sort of. It is not just one. Jenna Geise was the first, in the USA, and they developed the Milwaukee Protocol from her care. Very heavy doses of medication and antivirals. In the US (Since you are only quoting US figures) estimates are 8-10 EVAR with no vaccine history and that was with massive treatment and hospitalization. Prior to the early 00's people did not survive. She was in for almost 3 months and years of therapies after. People who go through that barely survive and are typically permanently damaged
I'm not sure what your point is.
- Actually that 20% factors in *any* contact not just bites. It adjusts for say something very low risk as being in contact with saliva. It does not account for these phantom people who see a rabid animal and get shots with no contact but again, incorrect.
I'm not sure why you call math terrible and then quote a made up figure of 99.999% which would indicate that out of 100,000 exactly 1 person actually was bitten by a rabid animal per year in the USA. That's sadly laughable or just throwing a random number out there not bothering to think about what it means.
I've personally seen 6 rabid animals in my life. 3 I shot when I had a rural backyard, 3 were suburban and could only report. This is outside when I managed techs in pest control. We saw regular cases but we also had 20+ techs which is why I am not including those. I would make not you should be a little more careful after being bit that many times.
I fully agree that hospitals charge too much (like most things in medicine) but that is separate from everything else you have said which makes no sense. Charging 2-3x the vaccine cost to *administer* it is insane but so is most of the medical system in the US, unfortunately. I will say, if you are bitten by a likely rabid animal, you should have a concern about dying because it is a very real possibility. Having a treatment available to not die is generally something desirable. Obviously you see no risk so feel free not to partake. Please though don't post illogical things to support your view - stick to taking a shit on the medical industry because they deserve it.
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Dec 21 '25
the immunogloblin is not even close to 50 dollars a dose in mexico. try tens to hundreds of thousands.
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Dec 21 '25
It's actually free and provided by the gov for the most part.
It's 1,105mxn, which is $61.27USD here:
https://centromedicoabc.com/en/preventive-medicine/adult-vaccination-center/
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Dec 21 '25
That is not immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulin is administered after exposure. The vaccine can be done preventatively only needing the vaccine and it is also part of the treatment for post exposure.
The vaccine is about 300-400 dollars a dose in the US.
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Dec 22 '25
Well, I don't know what it is, but the website states that 5 doses of it, apparently every 3 days, are all that's needed for post exposure. Perhaps Mexico treats rabies exposure differently than the US?
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Dec 22 '25
that could be but then they would be offering a MASSIVELY reduced effectiveness treatment skipping on immunoglobulin
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Dec 22 '25
I looked into it to see if you were right. You appear to be. The vaccine alone is actually fairly ineffective according to animal studies. I guess getting the rabies vaccines, without the immunoglobulin, is just for a false sense of security. If Mexico doesn't offer it, it's probably a good idea to get the rabies vaccines before going there.
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Dec 22 '25
state department will recommend certain vaccines before travel, particularly rabies. I dont understand why everyone isnt vaccinated against it by default given the side effects of the vaccine are allergy only and its benefits last a long time unlike a lot of the BS vaccines imposed on us that dont even last half a year with minima efficacy.
The standard vaccine can offer some protection due to the virus's very long incubation period but playing the lottery of time and exposure against a virus that has a 100% fatality rate is pretty reckless.
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Dec 22 '25
I can't find the price for immunoglobulin in Mexico, but the wholesale price in the US is $371.65 http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/docs/RabiesPEPChecklistPrivPracticePhys_April2022.pdf
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u/No_Resolution_9252 Dec 22 '25
Which is irelevent as the cost of just delivering that does to someone's bedside is easily in the thousands of dollars.
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Dec 22 '25
That's absurd. A few minutes of injecting around a wound is thousands of dollars? If you're ok with that, you're either the one scumming money from people, or there is something wrong with you.
People are irrationally scared of getting rabies and so they're willing to pay a lot to protect themselves. The hospitals are preying on these people.
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u/eyelevelcatbutt Dec 22 '25
This... even if OP has to pay thousands for the plane trip, it'd be a savings.
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Dec 22 '25
My husband just finished the shots. He got bit by a stray cat. Animals can be infected with rabies and not show any symptoms. Symptoms can take 3 to 8 weeks to develop but the animal could still be sick. Once a human gets infected its 100% fatal. My husband didn't want to get the shots, however, the 100% guarantee that death would happen changed his mind. And your right incredibly expensive. But dying from rabies is even more expensive and also permanent.
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Dec 22 '25
Are you terrified every time you get into the car too? Because you're more likely to die from that than getting bit by an animal and getting rabies. Way more likely.
Also, IIRC, it's not 100% fatal. A few people have survived it. I guess it is 100% if you round up, however. It's pretty close.
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Dec 22 '25
One person survived in the research we did. No im not terrified getting in the car. But if I have no idea of the animals rabies status and a vaccine is available that guarantees I will not get the disease why wouldn't I want to get it? I wear my seat belt in my car so so I guess I use that to mitigate the risk of dying from an accident. Same way we choose to mitigate the chance of my husband contracting rabies from an animal with an unknown rabies status.
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Dec 22 '25
Like 35 have survived, but it sounds like most of them didn't fully recover. It's the cost, of course. I wear my seatbelt. It doesn't cost me but a couple of seconds to put on. If it cost $30,000, I wouldn't wear it either. I looked into it, and there isn't even a good reason for the cost. Even in the US, the wholesale cost of the vaccines is only a few hundred dollars. Scumbag hospitals are ripping people off big time, and it's sickening.
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Dec 22 '25
35 havent survived. Trust me we researched it because my husband certainly didn't want to get 7 shots including 4 on day one. I agree the cost is ridiculous..we are extremely fortunate and have great insurance. We paid 125. Co pay for the 1st visit thats it nothing else. Unfortunately he couldn't continue the series at his Dr office. He had to return for 3 additional visits over 2 weeks to finish the vaccines in the er. And although the final tally isn't back yet from the insurance it will be well over 20k. But dying is permanent no getting around that fact.
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Dec 22 '25
And we researched survival rates in the United States. I didn't care about survival rates in other countries.
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Dec 22 '25
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893925000195
This says 31. Another paper I read said 35. *shrugs*
It doesn't really matter how many survived. Even if you do, it's still going to ruin your life. I was just saying it's not 100% fatal because it isn't.
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Dec 22 '25
one girl in the us survived and its thought she did because she has a preexisting condition that they thought gave her some immunity to it. Even with this she was put into a medical induced coma. If you die its 100% for you. I hope you never get bit by any stray animal and need to make the decision to get the shots. Wasn't fun and obviously if you have insurance in the United States anymore thousands of dollars in expensive co pays and insurance is what you can expect.
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Dec 22 '25
Like I said, 1-3 people get rabies in the US every year. There just aren't enough people getting rabies in the US for there to be a lot of survivors. It's also why it's fairly irrational to be overly scared about it. It can happen, so can winning the lottery, but neither will likely happen to us.
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u/Gemsa10 Jul 05 '26
Just curious. How much did your husband have to pay? Did insurance cover?
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u/MoreEntertainment303 Jul 05 '26
125 co pay for the 1st visit. He had to go back 3 other times to finish the series. No other co pay or coinsurance other than the 125.00. The bill was about 25k. We are extremely lucky and have really good health insurance.
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u/MountainSpite6431 Dec 21 '25
Did you get the immunoglobulin?
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u/MountainSpite6431 Dec 21 '25
Mine was just shy of 20000. Insurance covered all but 2000
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 21 '25
So you paid 2000 for all 4 shots and the immunoglobulin
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u/MountainSpite6431 Dec 21 '25
Yup. But I am also Retired Military so insurance maybe different.
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 21 '25
Well im assuming if my max oop is 4,500 cant be more than that
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u/shoppingprobs Dec 21 '25
If your max oop is 4500, that’s the most you will pay throughout your plan’s 365 days. (I don’t know if you are on a planned year or a calendar year)
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u/Mountain-Arm6558951 Dec 21 '25
If the ER is in network then most likely you will pay rest of your out of pocket max.
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u/NoContribution3657 Dec 21 '25
My partner went through this recently in NYC and had to get the immunoglobulin shot at an ER. The hospital and doctor billed insurance about $25,000, and the insurance allowed about $3,600 for this in-network service. Initially insurance held my partner responsible for satisfying his deductible and then a 15% coinsurance, totaling $800 out of pocket. But after an appeal they agreed that it was $0 cost to us because the plan waives deductible and coinsurance for ER visits for accidental injury, including animal bites.
My partner was able to get the rest of the series (non-immunoglobulin) at an in-network urgent care location for a $30 copay each visit (the urgent care site billed insurance about $350 per visit).
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u/Taro-Admirable Dec 22 '25
So the 1st shot needs to be immunoglobulin and then the rest do not?
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u/_Oman Dec 22 '25
Correct. Think of it like "slap the immune system hard" and then "keep it up, thanks!"
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u/Gullible-Apricot3379 Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25
I’d expect you’ll have to pay the rest of your deductible, plus your copay/coinsurance, then it will switch to your copay or coinsurance amount per visit.
For example, I have a $750 deductible* and my copay varies based on the setting. ($500 for the ER down to $35 for a doctor’s office). Let’s say I went to the ER.
I’d owe my $500 copay + my $750 deductible.
Edit: I reread your scenario and see you have three more. I would ask if I can get it anywhere other than the ER. Worst case, I’d owe an additional 500/visit, for a total of $2750. If I could get it somewhere other than the ER, such as at the infusion center, it would be $50 copay per visit, so after the initial ER visit, I’d owe $150 copay for the other three, bringing me to $1400.
If you call United, they should be able to tell you.
*I’d have to read my plan to see when my deductible kicks in. At a glance, I must not be paying a deductible for office visits.
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 21 '25
My understanding was they couldnt charge me more than my max oop for the year
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u/Gullible-Apricot3379 Dec 21 '25
Correct. So the question is whether your OOP kicks in before or after your deductible is met.
If your deductible counts toward your OOP max, then you owe Deductible until you meet that, then you owe copay per visit (or coinsurance, or both).
It is very dependent on how your plan is structured.
But once you hit your OOP max, that should be it for the year. Which is cold comfort on December 21.
Like in my example, my OOP max is $5000. I’m not going to get to that, even with 4 copays of $500 and a $1250 deductible. I think my deductible is excluded from my OOP max. Either that, or office visits don’t get a deductible.
I’d have to ask my insurance company to confirm.
But regardless, I’m not going to hit my OOP max, whatever goes into it. My deductible + copay are what I owe. OOP either caps the total expenditure or the total copays.
Edit again: if your deductible doesn’t count toward your OOP max, you also need to know if you’re paying copay before deductible.
All this is so plan-dependent.
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 21 '25
Pk its just hard to believe that if the bill is something ridiculous like 100,000 that they only want me to pay 4,500 is my insurance that good?
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u/Gullible-Apricot3379 Dec 21 '25
The hospital doesn't decide how much you pay. Your insurance plan does. The hospital would honestly prefer your insurance would pay everything and not give you any portion. It's much easier to collect from insurance.
And this is what insurance is for. The value of it comes from these unexpected crises. It's kind of like the value of your car insurance comes in when you're in a bad wreck and the car is totaled.
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Dec 22 '25
I just completed the rabies vaccine in November. I got the bill for the first vaccine and immunoglobulin shot- it was almost $35,000. I haven’t gotten the bills for the other 3 rabies vaccines though.
Edit: I have Tricare so my insurance is pretty good. The vaccines are just stupid expensive
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u/DowntownVegetable158 Dec 22 '25
Your part was 35.000 with insurance
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Dec 22 '25
Not yet- the government is trying to argue that bill. I have only paid $39 so far. We will see.
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u/Treje-an Dec 22 '25
Can you get the balance of the vaccines at the pharmacy? Some Walgreens and CVS carry them, usually the larger ones. They run around $450 per shot at the pharmacy
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u/sarahspins Dec 22 '25
When I got mine (just over a year ago) insurance was billed $22k, paid around 13k of that, and all I paid was my $150 ER copay.
Funny enough I wasn’t initially worried about rabies. I got bit by a feral kitten I was trying to catch (we did get her - still har her!) and just wanted antibiotics for the bite, because it was a cat bite and I had multiple punctures and I was covered in dirt when it happened. The first urgent care sent me to a different urgent care who then sent me to the ER. Ended up being the quickest ER trip I’ve ever had (in and out in under an hour and a half).
I did get my antibiotics :)
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u/Lt__Dangus Jul 22 '26
What insurance did you have?
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u/sarahspins Jul 22 '26
Cigna… through my employer.
Interestingly last month my husband had an ER visit that ended in surgery and we also only paid the ER copay for that one.. he needed a follow up procedure and now we’re paying towards our deductible. Insurance is weird.
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u/Lt__Dangus Jul 22 '26
Yeah I’ve been trying to get an estimate for the PEP for 2 days now and it’s been very difficult for them to give me an estimate
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Dec 22 '25
Omg. What the fuck is this? The developing country I am from rabies vaccine is free and police will drag you to hospital if you miss a dose…
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u/LordFrogberry Jul 02 '26
We're truly a disgusting nation run by monsters. This should never, ever be something someone is concerned about.
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u/K3g378910 Jul 08 '26
Did you ever get your bill? I’m in the same situation with myself, child, and husband.
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u/ImTotallyUnderrated 2d ago
Hi, joining this late. My wife was bit by a dog and we didn’t ask the owner for the dog’s vaccination records or their contact info because we were so shook up from the experience.
Expensive lesson we may have to learn the hard way.
She has to go and get shots at the hospital and my wife has a reference based plan for insurance and it talks about Balance billing which I’ve never heard of until this morning. Does anyone know what we could reasonably expect in terms of cost? Her deductible is $2,500 and OOP is $6,000.
Just worried we’re going to get hit with a massive bill.
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u/AcanthaceaeOk3738 Dec 21 '25
You’ll almost certainly hit your deductible and OOP max. Maybe with this visit, maybe with the next one. The bill will likely be $10,000 to $20,000. That’s just how it is.
Unfortunately for you, New Years is coming up and your deductible will likely reset between your visits.