Richard Thornton
Jul 27, 2017 · 1 min read

That was a very thoughtful article . . . but your medical bills seem low ball. I know several people with similar injuries, who ran up $40-$50, bills. Just be glad that a poisonous snake didn’t bite you. After one Australian company (through corporate acquisitions) obtained a monopoly on all snake anti-venom in the United States, the selling price has risen from $100 a vial to as high as $5000 a vial. Last summer a landscape contractor in our community was bitten by a young copperhead snake. He probably wouldn’t have died, but without anti-venom, would have taken about 1–2 months to fully recover. He stayed in our hospital for a day and a half. His bill was $225,000!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade