A WILDLIFE biologist in Florida, the United States, was slammed with a nearly US$50,000 medical bill after she was bitten by a stray kitten.

Jeannette Parker, 44, told Kaiser Health News (KHN) she noticed an emaciated black kitten on a road just outside Florida’s Everglades National Park in September. Feeling sorry for the sickly looking feline, Parker offered it some tuna she had in her car.

But the kitten didn’t take kindly to Parker, literally biting the hand that fed it.

“It broke my skin with his teeth,” she said.

Worried the cat may have infected her with rabies, she drove to the health department near her home in the Florida Keys, but it was closed. So, the biologist decided to go to Mariners Hospital, where she was treated in the emergency room and received two types of injections and an antibiotic for the bite.

All was well — until Parker was billed by the hospital for US$48,512.

The majority of the cost — US$46,422 — was for one preventative medication known as rabies immune globulin. Parker was administered 12 milliliters of rabies immune globulin.

Shocked, Parker began researching the typical cost of the medication.

The average cost of rabies immune globulin, according to KHN, is US$361.26 per milliliter. Parker received a 12-milliliter dose, so the cost of the medication would presumably have been US$4,335.

But at the time Parker was treated, the US$46,422 she was charged “reflected list prices the hospital had in place Sept. 22, 2018,” which is when she received treatment, KHN said.

The hospital, roughly a month later, lowered the price for rabies immune globulin to US$1,650 per 2 milliliters.

Luckily for Parker, who is reportedly insured through the American Postal Workers Union because her husband is a federal government employee, she didn’t have to pay the full amount — owing US$4,191 of the total cost. That included US$344 of her remaining deductible for 2018 and 10 percent of the charges.

Moving forward, Parker plans to have the hospital re-submit the bill to see if the 10 percent could be covered. She claims she was told by her insurance company that a cat bite should have been considered an “accidental injury” and thus eligible for 100 percent coverage under her plan, minus her remaining deductible.

But as the cost remains as it is, “my funeral would have been cheaper,” Parker joked.

(SD-Agencies)

(SD-Agencies)