Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Woman Receives $48,000 Medical Bill After Kitten Bites Her

Woman Receives $48,000 Medical Bill After Kitten Bites Her
Pexels

Guys, Florida is at it again.

A woman living in S. Florida just got a hospital bill of over $48k after going in for a kitten bite.


No, it didn't get hideously infected. No, she didn't need anything amputated.

In fact, the woman never even saw a doctor.

Half of you right now are thinking:

"Oh, so there was a mistake on her bill. Why is this even a story?"

Yeah, it's a story because there was no mistake.

The final bill for a few injections, antibiotics and (it bears repeating) no time with a doctor was $48,512.

Over $46k of that bill was for one single medicine.

Jeanette is now sitting around like classic Beyonce:

GIPHY

Jeanette Parker, 44, saw a kitten wandering in the road.

It looked hungry and thin and was in an area just outside of the Everglades National Park. That area is well known as a spot people dump unwanted pets, assuming they have the skills to survive in the wild.

Spoiler Alert: Not many do.

Those that do, however, tend to breed like crazy and can destroy the native wildlife.

Jeanette didn't know if the kitten was dumped or feral, but she knew she wanted to help as much as she could. As an animal lover and wildlife biologist, she had some tuna in her car - which she offered to her new feline friend.

The kitten got a bit too excited during snack time (don't we all) and bit Jeanette's finger. It was a small bite that did break the skin, but nothing too concerning.

She cleaned up her wound and went about her day before discovering that Miami-Dade county had recently released statements warning about rabies. Jeanette was no longer in Miami-Dade county, but that's where the cat was so she called the Health Department.

It was closed.

As a precaution, Jeanette went to her local hospital where she received two types of injections and an antibiotic and was then sent on her way.

She never even saw a doctor.

She certainly saw that massive bill, though. Yes, it's a hospital on an island, but only in the technical sense - like how Manhattan is an island.

Key West is accessible by land, sea and air and doesn't normally suffer the kind of inflation islands see when they're distant from the mainland.

Jeanette wants to know how the hospital can justify charging her almost fifty thousand dollars for 2 shots and some antibiotics.

We want to know, too!

JeanetteAngel Valentín for KHN/NPR

Jeanette says she assumed the bill was a mistake, so she went to the hospital with it for clarification. Since one medicine was charged at $46,422 she thought maybe there was a typo.

Perhaps an extra 2 there at the end?

The hospital informed her that no, there was no mistake. Her bill was correct.

The medication that sent her bill skyrocketing is a preventative medication used in rabies exposures called immune globulin. NPR got a hold of the story and did some research.

Based on the amount of immune globulin Ms. Parker received, her bill at a typical hospital should have been about $4,335.

Here's the problem - hospitals are allowed to create their own pricing. The hospital Jeanette went to was charging $7.737.00 per 2mL dose.

Precautionary treatment often requires several doses. Since it's considered a life-saving medication, most people don't shop around for it.

Jeanette certainly didn't.

Charles Rupprecht is a World Health Organization technical adviser on rabies and also ran the rabies program at the CDC for 20 years.

Even he is stunned by the bill, telling NPR:

"I have never heard anything that high for immune globulin. How is that possible?"

To add further insult to injury, the hospital re-vamped it's pricing just a month after Jeanette's visit.

Her bill on the new pricing scale would have been $9,900. That's still double what a patient should expect to pay, but it's far less than the $48,512 she was billed.

The hospital refused to honor their new pricing and Jeanette's bill stayed right where it was.

According the Jeanette's insurance company, the bite should have been billed as an accidental injury and would have been eligible to be 100% covered.

The hospital disagreed.

Her insurance paid $34,618, which left Jeanette with a total out-of-pocket cost of $13,894.

Over a bite from a kitten.

GIPHY

Jeanette told NPR:

"My funeral would have been cheaper."

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less