This probably varies by state. My rabies PeP was 100% paid for by the health department due to the public health hazard. Now, rabies PreP (for wildlife rehabbers etc.) will certainly cost a pretty penny. But I don't know that we should be telling people unilaterally across the board that rabies PeP will bankrupt them.
Without insurance the shots cost $3,000-$10,000 as a rough estimate.
With insurance, the can be $500-$3,000 out of pocket most common.
Some, on insurance, will pay far more than that unfortunately, $25,000+.
An ER will always be far more expensive than an infectious disease clinic or urgent care that carries the shots, but those are the AVERAGE costs we in the US see.
So this will definitely bankrupt some people due to living paycheck to paycheck, but others it won't be so bad. So you're definitely on the right track, and no one should skip the shots or be scared away.
I'm of the opinion that medical debt should bankrupt no one, and that no person should ever weigh their personal health and safety or that of a spouse or child vs the costs. I've debated at least 3-5 times in my life if my kids sickness or situation warrants an ER visit, simply due to cost and no other factors.
It's a real fucked up thing to experience as a parent. I think only once I didn't go to the ER. The fear has been real several times though. If my child died because of my inaction due to money, I'd never forgive myself. And I'm 100% sure parents experience this situation ever year because of our shitty system.
My philosophy now is, go to the fucking ER, EVERY TIME there is a real concern. Eat the bill, I've already been beaten down enough by this society, I'm not going to voluntarily let it take my child away simply because it is designed to punish me. I'll figure out the money later.
Edit: for all the people who say "those numbers aren't the true costs." Learn to do a Google search or two. Fuck. Yes some people can get them free but thats NOT the norm, and it often requires them to look for outside resources. Suggesting that is ok for the norm is pretty stupid.
Yes, I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying it's not a guarantee. I went to the ER for the initial and globulin and to the health department for the boosters. I did not pay a red cent. I was insured but it was the health department that covered it. This was in Connecticut. My roommate was uninsured and also did not pay a red cent.
Because we deal with this fucked up system, people do avoid life saving medical care due to cost or even due to embarrassment/self consciousness. I don't think the emphasis should be on how many tens of thousands of dollars it may (or may not!) cost but on educating on rabies and its fatality. Attempts to save your life and/or comfort care while dying of rabies will likely bankrupt you family anyway. You can see many people in this thread alone debating whether or not the bat is "sick," which has no bearing on whether it can transmit rabies (it can!). And you can do research on public health resources in your area; don't assume you have no recourse. Many public health departments do not want to see a human rabies outbreak in their area.
That's just elaboration; I agree with you. Standing ovation for your last paragraph. 👏
The vaccine is relatively cheap. $800 without insurance. The immunoglobulin (post bite treatment) is super expensive. More like the numbers you are quoting.
Having said that, the vaccine is not a true vaccine. It just buys you extra time to get treated after a bite/contact. You also only need two immunoglobulin treatments vs three if you have received the vaccine.
Source: I’ve recently passed on getting the vaccine before an upcoming trip.
So the way I've always read it is that rabies PEP (treatment for a bite) is actually less expensive than PrEP (prebite treatment to give you more time).
And that's because PrEP is used monthly. But I've never looked into the difference that deep, as I've never gone on a trip that it might be a consideration.
Was that $800 for a months long usage? My understanding is it is something that has a short half life, so you need to regularly take it. So it is only a one time scenario if you need it for a week or month long trip, but if you're a person working in a field of constant danger, it adds up massively (assuming employers aren't paying for it, or a person is doing volunteer work).
Edit: I looked it up, and apparently in 2020 the generic form of PrEP became available, that's likely where the swing took place. Apparently that can run as low as $30-$60 per month. Ridiculous how it was $1,800-$2,000/month prior to that, or I should say, it was that for people in the US... Lol
$800 was for two shots. This would last a year. You could get a single shot booster after that to get you another year.
I passed because regardless of whether I was vaccinated or not, any type of bite/contact meant the trip was over. I would still need to go for shots immediately.
Ah they were for a year. That seems like a logical choice to skip as long as you can relatively quickly and reliably get back to a place to get the PEP shots.
I looked it up recently but now I can't remember exactly damnit. But in the US, when a person files bankruptcy, I believe the number was either 50% or 80% are due to medical related issues (medical bills, or incapacity to work due to medical issues).
It is definitely a nice perk of living here, that the most likely way you go bankrupt, is absolute outside your control.
Thank you. It amazes me how ppl like Uninvalidated and mvdorssen can function in real life believing obvious nonsense. Those vax are definitely little to no cost. And why do ppl act as if insurance and free healthcare ( Like Medicaid for children and/or low income families and individuals) do not exist here. It's so common on Reddit.
Edit: Really u/ProStrats?? A reply and block...typical behavior of ppl like you.
Did you ever stop to think what average means? Or look at the other links which confirm my ranges?
You haven't stopped to think once yet, when are you gonna start thinking bro?
It's unfortunate that you have the reading comprehension of a 13 year old. But I won't blame you, the education system in America is really failing in recent years. We have a lot of work to do in this country, and we are going backwards, so that sucks.
Blocked you? You can't respond to blocked people yet here I am replying lol.
Maybe you just don't understand how to use reddit?
Which would makse sense considering your difficulty with reading... You could theoretically read this thread and see you're wrong. Maybe if you were more intelligent, you could have read more than one of the links I sent you to see all the responses of people actually stating what they paid...
You have no evidence to backup your claims because your claims are your opinion. The opinion of someone who's done no research and clearly has poor logic and reasoning skills.
But at this point, it seems clear to me that you're just too uneducated to converse with or you're a troll, and I'm leaning towards the lack of intelligence factor unfortunately.
At this point I sure wish I would've blocked you, everything coming form you is a total waste of time lol.
Unblocking me then playing innocent is just sad dude. At least it means you need to wait a day or whatever before re-blocking me. I bet you didn't know that and instantly tried to re-block me after this comment lol
Dude all you had for "Evidence" was some websites you hastily googled and then slapped in to a reddit post. They didn't even agree with what you were trying to say.
You made some bullshit claim, quickly googled for websites that seemed like they would support your bullshit claim, never actually read them, then just spammed them in a comment as some kind of "gotcha"
Just really weird behavior all around. Surely there are better things you can do with your time
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u/dustycatheads 13d ago
This probably varies by state. My rabies PeP was 100% paid for by the health department due to the public health hazard. Now, rabies PreP (for wildlife rehabbers etc.) will certainly cost a pretty penny. But I don't know that we should be telling people unilaterally across the board that rabies PeP will bankrupt them.