That is where I caught a mysterious ailment that didn't manifest itself until the day after I was back in Houston. Three days later I was in hospital in an induced coma and on a respirator with pneumonia and sepsis. I came close enough to checking out that my kids were summoned home from college for a few days, and I didn't get out of the hospital for 5 1/2 weeks. I have honestly not been the same since.
Roger G. Moore -----Original Message----- From: Lyndon Tiu <[email protected]> To: caverarch <[email protected]> Cc: egelsone <[email protected]>; ac <[email protected]>; texascavers <[email protected]>; stephen.gutting <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Feb 21, 2012 8:14 pm Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots What happened to you in London? On Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 4:54 PM, caverarch <[email protected]> wrote: > I got a similar pre-exposure immunization to that which Allan refers from a > Houston travel medicine service prior to a trip to Belize in 2001. It was > added to a standard tropical infectious diseases package after I mentioned > that I would be caving. The price for the co-pay on the whole lot wasn't > prohibitive or I would have gone without. > > As it turned out, Belize didn't kill me, but London nearly did. :-( > > Roger G. Moore > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Edward Gelsone <[email protected]> > To: 'Lyndon Tiu' <[email protected]>; 'Allan B. Cobb' <[email protected]>; > 'Cavers Texas' <[email protected]> > Cc: Steve Gutting <[email protected]> > Sent: Mon, Feb 20, 2012 1:42 pm > Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots > > I personally believe the variance is due to the manner in which almost all > medical bills are charged. > > When I was self-insured in the 90’s I always discussed the price up front. > The doctors gave me a cash price for all services and the prices were fair. > Always much less than the insurance prices as billed. > > Since that time I have always checked out what my insurance carrier was > billed vs what they actually paid the treatment center, HUGE differences. > > As an example a bit over a year ago, I was prescribed a common CPAP > machine. Humana was being billed $1,500.00 per month. My portion was about > $190.00 per month. The sleep center billed this monthly. I was racking up > $190.00 per month and Humana was paying nothing. > > I found the same exact machine on-line and it was actually very > inexpensive. I called the sleep center and offered them what they would > cost retail (a bit overpriced that way) and they took the cash deal and I > was paid up immediately. > > So, book price $1500 per month (apparently forever) > Insurance paid ZERO > I paid about $800.00 and settled the deal. > > Same thing for all services. The Doctor bills a ton and accepts about a ten > percent payment from the insurance company. I have never found one that > would not accept the same from you on a cash basis. So rabies shot prices > are most likely driven by the need for the insurance companies and the Feds > to make us think medical bills must be huge. Therefore justifying both the > need for insurance to cost so much and the Feds to take over the industry. > > ala OBAMACARE > > Ed > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lyndon > Tiu > Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 1:24 PM > To: Allan B. Cobb; Cavers Texas > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots > > Then why the huge price discepancy? Someone got fleeced? > -- > Lyndon Tiu > On Feb 20, 2012 12:56 PM, "Allan B. Cobb" <[email protected]> wrote: > You can get pre-exposure shots which requires 3 shots at 0, 7, and 21/28 > days at the Austin Regional Clinic Travel Medicine office for $360 per shot > (or $270 with a cash discount). Post exposure, from what I understand is 4 > shots of the same vaccine. > > http://www.austinregionalclinic.com/Services/travel_medicine_services/pricing.asp > > Allan > > From: Ron R > Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 12:47 PM > To: Preston Forsythe > Cc: [email protected] ; R D Milhollin ; Jim Kennedy > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots > > I'm sure there are vastly different prices for the Rabies vaccination > (pre-exposure) vs. the emergency Rabies shot series (post-exposure). > On Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Preston Forsythe <[email protected]> > wrote: > Thanks RD for checking as I was hoping the Miami price was inflated. I did > double check the Miami Audubon article and it cost the author $27,000.00. > > I would certainly hope the vaccine would be cheaper in TX and KY. I was > wondering if it would even be available in KY? > > When Crash gets time maybe he can enlighten us on the costs, procedures and > availability. I bet Crash has had the vaccines. Wonder how long the shots > are good for? > > There have been several times in my caving days when I was surrounded by > bats, swimming in thick guano covered water, not to mention walking, wading > and crawling in deep guano. > > Guano Go Caving, > > Preston > ============================================= > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: R D Milhollin > To: Preston Forsythe ; [email protected] > Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 11:55 AM > Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots > > Preston, that cost figure seemed a little out-of-range, so I took 4 minutes > to look around for other information to confirm or refute the article's > claim. > > > This is from the North Dakota public health website: > > http://www.ndhealth.gov/disease/Rabies/QandA.htm > > "How much does rabies vaccine cost? > > Rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin is very expensive. A typical vaccination > series with the rabies immunoglobulin can cost anywhere from $2,000 to > $7,000+ per person." > > > and from a North Carolina new program: > > http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/jun/30/rabies-shots-are-expensive-hard-find-and-time-cons-ar-1169155/ > > "If you think the long wait and multiple visits are tough to handle, the > hospital bills are worse. Hutton said the first treatment resulted in a bill > of $10,289. But why so much? > The cost of the ER facility is only 7 percent of the bill, but then you need > a vial of immunoglobulin. That's where the big money factors in. Depending > on its weight, a vial of immunoglobulin can cost upwards of$1,500. According > to Rex Hospital Emergency Room supervisor Sherry Witt, immunoglobulin is > like liquid gold. > According to Rex, in Hutton's $10,000 bill, that one shot was 80 percent of > the bill -more than $8,000 for that one shot." > > So my unscientific, cursory survey of the information on the internet seems > to show that while very expensive, the figure quoted by the Miami Audubon > seems somewhat inflated, by a factor ranging from 2 to 4 times. What would > be more informative for us would be what Texas health providers charge for > the treatment. > ________________________________ > From: Preston Forsythe <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 10:23 AM > Subject: [Texascavers] Cost of Rabies Shots > > According to an article in the Miami Tropical Audubon Society newsletter, > Spring 2011, five rabies shots cost---$27,000. > > The author one evening picked up a "little fluttering thing," a bat, which > bit her repeatedly between the thumb and forefinger. After 3 days she > "yielded to reason (and fear)" and went to the doctor. Regular doctors do > not stock rabies vaccine so she had to go to the Emergency Room. She > received Five shots in the upper arm, painless, and a bill for $27,000. But, > that prevented the possible rabies virus from migrating to the brain, where > it is always fatal. > > The bat was a Brazilian Free-Tailed bat and it lived for 3 days, hence the > shots. > > The author says if you must handle bats wear heavy gloves. > > By the way the Tropical Audubon Society headquarters in sw Miami at Coral > Gables is a great place to visit. Lots of birding in that very tropical and > jungle like area. > > Cavingly, > > Preston in KY > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > > > > > -- > Ron Rutherford > -- Lyndon Tiu
