Bat flies into woman's mouth in Arizona, costing her nearly $21,000 in medical bills

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• scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Kahn said looking back, she should have secured private health insurance as soon as she was laid off.

  “I should have done COBRA, even though it was very expensive,” Kahn said. “But yeah, hindsight is 20/20.”

  The near-$21,000 burden will probably lead to fewer vacations and a delay in having central air conditioning installed at her place, Kahn said.

  She said she hopes others can learn from her misstep.

  “It was my fault. I took the risk of not doing COBRA and that’s forever on me,” she said. "But if one person gets covered because they saw this story, then I would be happy about that.

  Our system is fucked, that is for 100% sure. There should be no way that someone goes into medical debt because they were laid off, and we should fight to have a better system.

  However, viewing the problem at the societal level and the individual level are different things. Societally we need to push for health care for all. Individually though - get COBRA, get on a spouse’s plan, whatever you need to do. Don’t risk it.

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  • davidgro@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Paying literally hundreds of dollars per month as soon as I no longer have income isn’t a reasonable expectation either.

    If a freak accident like this happens while I don’t have a job, I’ll just go bankrupt and likely become homeless, then die. I’m counting on that not happening.

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    • philophilsaurus@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Yea people say get COBRA, but how are you supposed to pay for that AND rent/food/utilities? On top of that, you also need to apply and fill out all the paperwork and shit while dealing with actually finding a new job at the same time.

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  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    The problem is that COBRA is often unimaginably expensive, and since it’s something you’re faced with while out of work, it’s an impossible option for regular people. The better choice is to get private insurance as soon as you can, but coverage is usually tied to the start of calendar months, meaning you could be uncovered for a time if you don’t take COBRA. To make it even more wonderful, you often lose access to your health care immediately when you lose your job, so COBRA is only helpful retroactively after the fact in the event of a major emergency.

    Health care in the US is barbaric.

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    • scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Oh I agree the system is fucked and cobra is equally bad. Being forced into this system though I would urge people to have enough in savings so that if they are dropped tomorrow from insurance they can at least rest easy knowing they have health care. Individually be ready for that rainy day. Societally yes let’s rip down our healthcare system

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  • coralof@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I got laid off and looked into the COBRA offering. Sorry, but I’m not paying $758 a MONTH for coverage. NOPE.

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  • Elaine@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    The times when I was eligible for COBRA it was prohibitively expensive. I don’t know who it’s helping but definitely not worth it when it’s more than half your rent.

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  • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    DO NOT GET COBRA! That is NOT the fucking lesson! Look, just use healthcare.gov. it’s not perfect, but God damn it will get 90% of people affordable healthcare.

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    • coralof@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Thanks for reminding me of this. My COBRA coverage was asking $758 a month. I found a 0 deductible plan on healthcare.gov for $370. If I don’t get a job by the end of this month, I’ll sign up for that.

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• Showroom7561@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  This makes me mildly infuriating:

  The unemployed Massachusetts woman figured she could roll the dice as a healthy woman in her early 30s or at worst, could hastily buy private health insurance in a pinch, Kahn said.

  The near-$21,000 burden will probably lead to fewer vacations

  A huge percentage of the population doesn’t have enough dispodable income to take a single vacation, yet this FAFO situation “will probably” lead to fewer vacations for this woman?

  My empathy meter is at near zero, TBH.

  That said, fuck any country for not having a healthcare system available to all without having to cost a few vacations.

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  • pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    A huge percentage of the population doesn’t have enough dispodable income to take a single vacation

    I find this odd to believe though. A vacation doesn’t have to be extravagant. A good chunk of U.S states have PTO even and driving to Arizona isn’t that extravagant anyway.

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    • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I find this odd to believe though.

      Census.gov reports over 12% of people in the States are poor (38 million people).

      The NPR reported that half the population can’t afford rent.

      A good chunk of the rest are able to afford it, but unlikely to have several thousand laying around for a trip.

      A vacation doesn’t have to be extravagant. A good chunk of U.S states have PTO even and driving to Arizona isn’t that extravagant anyway.

      I guess it depends on what “vacation” means. In the context of this article, it seems like this lady actually travels for vacation.

      If we mean visiting the local beach as a “vacation”, we’ve really been screwed over by wealth hoarders.

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    • Soulg@ani.social ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Even just the money for a motel along with gas and food is difficult for a lot of people.

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• njm1314@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Ain’t nothing mild about how infuriating 21,000 of medical bills for this is.

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• axEl7fB5@lemmy.cafe ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  How is this c/mildlyinfuriating? Ain’t this supposed to be c/nottheonion or something?

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  • artiman@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

    the 21,000 dollars part is mildly infuriating although i would argue more than mildly.

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  • return2ozma@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Medical bills

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• bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Was it piloted by Ozzy’s ghost?

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• somerandomperson@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Bat: “Fuck you in particular, i’m gonna send you to the hostpital”

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  • tal@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/pdf/batarticle.pdf

    Myth: Bats get tangled up in people’s hair.

    Fact: Bats navigate and catch tiny insects using echolocation. This system is extremely refined and more sophisticated than radar. Bats can detect single strands of human hair and can easily avoid your hair.

    And then there was Bugsy, who was kind of an idiot.

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    • bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Didn’t scientists set up a high speed camera to see the amazing echolocation avoidance tactics of bats in action and actually ended up filming tons of collisions? I remember seeing that in some documentary.

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    • frozenpopsicle@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Seriously echolocation must have its drawbacks. Cause I been hit twice by bats in the face. No issues. Just a half minute of WTF.

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• CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Crazy situation. I’d like to let her father know that those sunglasses don’t fit his face very well.

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• possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  How is this mildly infuriating

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  • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    in civilized, developed countries, it doesn’t cost a kings ransom to receive necessary medical care.

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    • artiman@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

      he probably meant that's more infuriating than just mildly infuriating

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• UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Sometimes I forget others really want to keep living. Excited to get the opportunity to pay more rent or wage slave harder for less? I guess some people are like really into that shit. Not me.

  Image

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  • pyre@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    i realize that some people sometimes think “i wish i was dead” but i don’t think anyone really goes “i wish i had severe health complications until i die a slow and painful death.”

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• Abraxas@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Ozzy would approve

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  • quinkin@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Another must assume the mantle. The bats have chosen.

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• hex123456@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  If this doesn’t teach her to shut her mouth, nothing will…

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• tal@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Erica Kahn, now 33, had recently lost her job as a biomedical engineer when she traveled to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in last August, she told NBC News.

  After Kahn lost her job, she declined to pay for her former employer’s insurance for $650 a month through COBRA, the federal continuation of health coverage law.

  The unemployed Massachusetts woman figured she could roll the dice as a healthy woman in her early 30s or at worst, could hastily buy private health insurance in a pinch, Kahn said.

  I mean…you’ve the right to do that, but the flip side is that if you decide you don’t want to do insurance, you need to pay for any medical care you get.

  Insurers mitigate risk. You can’t just get a condition and then go out and buy insurance to pay for it — they’ll be structured to make that difficult, or they’d just be constantly losing.

  Then the bills started pouring in, asking for a total of $20,749, because her policy had a 30-day waiting period before she could receive treatments covered by the plan, she said.

  And, yeah, there there you are.

  Personally, I think that unless you’re truly in a position where you really don’t need risk mitigation, you probably want health insurance, since you could wind up with some kind of utterly catastrophic situation. Like, if you can reasonably cover any medical bill that comes up yourself, then yeah, it’s just taking on some unnecessary overhead. But for most people, I’d at least get coverage for catastrophic events. Going with a high deductible is a more-reasonable way to reduce the amount of risk mitigation you’re buying.

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  • Dasus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    All of that would make sense yeah. If the cheapest alternative wasn’t 650$ a month.

    Got to say as someone from the Nordics that this shit is beyond ludicrous and honestly they’re playing Jenga with the whole of American society, begging for an armed revolution.

    Which could be argued to have already started. Image

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• LodeMike@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  What a deal on the treatment! /s

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• Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  The ol’ bat in the mouth trick gets me every time.

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• Colonel_Panic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Was it wooden or metal?

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• frozenpopsicle@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  She’s an American? Even I know better than to seek lifesaving luxury care at a hospital. Booze and D.O.T. automatic transmission fluid. Fix you right up. Yup. 'Merica.

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• UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Cave, I go.

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• diptchip@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  He’s smiling because she doesn’t spit.

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• Fizz@lemmy.nz ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Sue the bat!

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• thatradomguy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  This isn’t the comic book story I was hoping it’d turn into.

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  • workerONE@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Who are you?

    I’m batmouth

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• Ceruleum@lemmy.wtf ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Next time, use some mouthwash.

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• realitista@lemmus.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Well that sucks.

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• ieatpwns@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Is this where they hibernate to in the winter?

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