https://abc7news.com/rabies-shot-hospital-bill-vacaville-ca-couple-northbay-healthcare-vacavalley/12788545/

  * 
    ABC7 Bay Area 24/7 live stream
    Watch Now
  * 
    Watch ABC7 newscasts on demand
    Full Story
  * 
    Tracking CA's reservoir levels, snowpack map, drought status
    Full Story
  * 
    How safe is your neighborhood? Check out Bay Area safety tracker
    Full Story

---------------------------------------------------------------------

  * 
  * 
  * 
  * 

 

WATCH LIVE

[                    ][Search]
 
San FranciscoEast BaySouth BayPeninsulaNorth Bay
 
 
 EDIT
Log In
[                    ][Search]
WatchApps
Local News
San FranciscoEast BaySouth BayPeninsulaNorth Bay
Categories
TrafficBuilding A Better Bay Area - Take Action7 On Your SideI-Team
Equity ReportABC7 Original VideosFeel Good Stories
WeatherDroneView7 VideosSports & Dubs On 7Technology & BusinessUS &
WorldHealth and CoronavirusCalifornia
Station Info
About ABC7 Bay AreaABC7 Newsteam Bios#ABC7Now: Connect with ABC7Take
Action in Your CommunityABC7 Jobs & InternshipsContests, Promotions,
& Rules
shows
ABC7 Live NewscastsABC7 Midday LiveABC7 SpecialsLocalishWith
Authority PodcastTV Listings
 
Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7
Follow Us:
    
Welcome,
Your Account
Log Out

  * I Team

EXCLUSIVE: Solano Co. couple shocked by $200K hospital bill for
rabies shots after encountering bat

Dan Noyes Image
ByDan Noyes KGO logo
Thursday, February 9, 2023
EXCLUSIVE: Solano Co. couple charged more than $200K for rabies shots
EMBED <>More Videos
[<iframe width="476" ]

Vacaville, California couple shocked by $200,000 hospital bill for
rabies shots by NorthBay Healthcare VacaValley Hospital after
encountering bat.

VACAVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Solano County couple went to the
hospital for rabies shots after finding a bat in their house and the
bill from that single, simple visit? More than $200,000.

So they called ABC7 News I-Team reporter Dan Noyes to investigate.

Tens of thousands of people each year receive a series of shots to
prevent rabies after a possible exposure. It normally costs between
$1,200 and $6,800. Not in this case.

Eileen Aguilar describes that day, "I couldn't see, so I'm squinting.
And then it just had this awkward walk like this."

RELATED: SJ couple billed more than $2,200 to take ambulance next
door

EMBED <>More Videos

Aguilar was putting on her contacts in the upstairs bathroom of her
Vacaville home when something startled her out of the corner of her
eye.

"I grabbed my glasses, put it on and kind of went like this. And I
was like, 'Oh, my gosh, it's a bat,'" said Aguilar.

By the time her husband, Al, came up, the bat was crawling up the
wall.

He told the I-Team, "Of all things, it's behind the door, so then I
had to go on and close the door and just the bat and I were in
there."

Al captured this little guy in a bucket, took it out to the creek,
and released it. Even though neither of them had been bitten, their
doctor recommended they get a rabies shot at the local emergency
room.

"I really didn't want to go to the ER," said Eileen Aguilar. "I just
know it's expensive and it's a long wait, but she checked and she
says no, the first vaccination has to be done at the emergency room."

At the nonprofit NorthBay Healthcare VacaValley Hospital, they had a
simple 15-minute consultation - had blood pressure taken, no tests,
no lab work. Then, injections with the rabies vaccine. The bill? More
than $112,000 for Al.

Eileen described her reaction to the bill: "It's like, this has got
to be wrong."

VIDEO: What you need to know about the cost of visiting the ER

EMBED <>More Videos

The bill for Eileen? $93,500.

"It was just shock and surprise, I was looking at that going, this
can't be. And then the additional bills started coming in, as well,"
said Al Aguilar.

Three follow-up visits for rabies shots at NorthBay Health clinics
cost just $1,300. That first visit to the ER totaled $206,285.68. The
Aguilars did not receive an itemized bill; it just lists "emergency
medicine." They assume the major expense was sitting in a room for
more than four hours, waiting for their shots.

"They stuck us in the back room. That seemed to be an unused part of
the ER, we saw a bunch of equipment and supplies in the back and at
one point I was thinking, did they forget about us?" said Eileen
Aguilar.

The Aguilars signed a release form so the I-Team could discuss their
rabies treatment with anyone, but NorthBay Health's Marketing
Director Diane Barney emailed, "NorthBay Health does not engage in
the practice of discussing patient billing matters publicly, out of
respect for patient privacy."

Barney also said no executive from NorthBay Health would agree to be
interviewed, not her or the chief executive officer, the chief
financial officer, the vice president of operations, or even the
chief medical officer/chief quality officer.

Charles Rupprecht, rabies expert: "You're gonna report on this,
right?"

Dan Noyes: "Yes."

Rupprecht: "I can see the title now, the $200,000 bat."

MORE: Medical debt dropped from credit scores: Here's how you can
make sure it's removed

We discussed the case with Charles Rupprecht, one of the world's
foremost experts on rabies. He headed the CDC's Rabies Program for 20
years, and still consults for the World Health Organization.
Rupprecht has seen reports of overcharging for rabies vaccines across
the country, even the $48,000 cat bite, but never this much. He's
worried, this massive bill might dissuade other patients who need
treatment.

"That might cause them not to seek care. That may cause them to
trivialize the event. And if that occurs because of socio-economic
reasons, and it was a real rabies case, and it results in a
productive infection, they're gonna die," said Rupprecht.

The California Department of Public Health tells us they would get
involved only if there is an issue with quality of care, that "CDPH
does not have a role in setting charge limits or ranges for
services." The hospital is required to make its charges public.
NorthBay Health's online listing shows $547.65 for a rabies vaccine.

We also checked with the state senator from the Aguilar's district,
Bill Dodd.

He told us, "When we found out from your office about this, you know,
frankly, we've already checked in with NorthBay Health Center, just
asking how they possibly could justify this, pretty outrageous."

MORE: Uninsured and Unprotected: Data shows growing health insurance
gap across the Bay Area

Dodd says you should try to avoid the emergency room if possible;
that's the most expensive healthcare we can receive. But from his
position on the Senate Committee on Insurance, Dodd has a question
about the Aguilar's insurance. Even with plan discounts, United
Healthcare still paid more than $58,000 for the couple's rabies
treatment.

Dodd: "How can it get this costly? And why would an insurance company
not put up the same type of outrageous indignation, if you will, that
I'm sure these people are feeling."

Dan Noyes: "So, you have questions and you're actually looking into
it."

Dodd: "Absolutely."

The Aguilars wound up paying $3,546.64 out of pocket. The insurance
company told us Wednesday that they "are reaching out to NorthBay
Healthcare... to address these excessive charges." By the way, the
rabies expert told us, chances are that bat was not infected. The
couple should have kept it, had it tested for rabies, and may have
avoided the shots in the first place.

Take a look at more stories by the ABC7 News I-Team.

Now Streaming 24/7 Click Here

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Report a correction or typo
Copyright (c) 2023 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Related Topics

  * SOCIETY
  * VACAVILLE
  * VACCINES
  * RABIES
  * HOSPITAL
  * HOSPITALS
  * I TEAM
  * BILLS

I-Team

 
[13095387_0]

Alameda Co. DA disqualifies veteran judge from criminal cases

 
[13096873_0]

Images detail last moments of Bob Lee's life after SF stabbing

 
[13095321_0]

Slain Cash App founder Bob Lee was leader in financial tech: Expert

 
[13093041_U]

Friends of Bob Lee react to tech exec's fatal stabbing in SF

Live Streams
 
ON NOW

Top Stories

 
[13110946_0]

CHP looking for information into fatal Milpitas freeway shooting

 
[13110068_4]

SF mayor speaks about Bob Lee investigation, city's public safety

 
[13112733_0]

Exploding wildflowers have Bay Area on verge of superbloom

 
[13113948_0]

Berkeley holds watch party as peregrine falcon hatchlings expected

 
[13114185_0]

Lake Tahoe water was clearest it's been in 40 years, report says

  * 1 hour ago

 

Judge rules Elizabeth Holmes must report to prison this month

 

What's 'juice jacking?' FBI warns to avoid public USB ports

 

700 inches and counting: Palisades sees record snowfall this season

ABC7 San Francisco

  * Home
  * AccuWeather
  * Traffic
  * Local News
        San FranciscoEast BaySouth BayPeninsulaNorth Bay
  * Categories
        WatchAppsBuilding A Better Bay Area - Take Action7 On Your
        SideI-TeamEquity ReportABC7 Original VideosFeel Good Stories
  * Station Info
        About ABC7 Bay AreaABC7 Newsteam Bios#ABC7Now: Connect with
        ABC7Take Action in Your CommunityABC7 Jobs & Internships
        Contests, Promotions, & Rules
  * Shows
        ABC7 Live NewscastsABC7 Midday LiveABC7 SpecialsLocalishWith
        Authority PodcastTV Listings
  * Apps

ABC7 San Francisco
Follow Us:
    
HomeWeatherTrafficWatchPhotosApps
San FranciscoEast BaySouth BayPeninsulaNorth Bay
Building A Better Bay Area - Take Action7 On Your SideI-TeamEquity
ReportABC7 Original VideosFeel Good Stories
About ABC7 Bay AreaABC7 Newsteam Bios#ABC7Now: Connect with ABC7Take
Action in Your CommunityABC7 Jobs & InternshipsContests, Promotions,
& Rules

  * Privacy Policy
  * Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  * Children's Privacy Policy
  * Your US State Privacy Rights
  * Terms of Use
  * Interest-Based Ads
  * Public Inspection File
  * FCC Applications

Privacy PolicyDo Not Sell My Personal InformationChildren's Privacy
PolicyYour US State Privacy Rights
Terms of UseInterest-Based AdsPublic Inspection FileFCC Applications
Copyright (c) 2023 ABC, Inc., KGO-TV San Francisco. All Rights
Reserved.