How much do vaccines actually cost?

[TitanDiddly]

I don't have health insurance, and just went to the doctor's office to get a vaccine for Meningitis. It was $83. I know the vaccine didn't cost anywhere near that much. They certainly didn't make up for it in labor- I was in the room for literally less than 30 seconds. Roll of the sleeve, alcohol swab, stab with the needle, and out the door. Not even a bandage.
Healthcare is BS.

 

[randomlinh]

it's called paying for R&D. and wanting some kind of profit.

 

[BRObedoza]

move to canada

 

[TitanDiddly]

Originally posted by: lnguyen
it's called paying for R&D. and wanting some kind of profit.

So you mean that either the vaccine actually cost somewhere in that region, or that the friendly drones at my local clinic did the R&D?

I'm more suspect that the drones are buying it for $25 or so and charging $83 just because. Most people don't have to pay out of pocket, so it's alright to screw the insurance company and the few that do pay out of pocket, right?

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: lnguyen
it's called paying for R&D. and wanting some kind of profit.

So you mean that either the vaccine actually cost somewhere in that region, or that the friendly drones at my local clinic did the R&D?

I'm more suspect that the drones are buying it for $25 or so and charging $83 just because. Most people don't have to pay out of pocket, so it's alright to screw the insurance company and the few that do pay out of pocket, right?

That's the problem with the health insurance system. You pay $200 a month so that you don't have to pay for your $50 checkup twice a year. It's the equivalent of paying $3000 a month in car insurance so that they cover all maintenance work. Why don't we have insurance that only covers catastrophic events?

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Get an job with an employeer that pays all of your health insurance premiums.

 

[Amused]

You're paying for:

The vaccine
The Dr's time (even if you saw him for a minute or two, he and his staff still need to fill out all the paperwork on the visit)
The Dr's insurance. This makes up a significant portion of any bill
Other overhead.

Then, after all that, the Dr gets to make a few bucks. I'm willing to bet he made maybe $20 off of you, if that.

 

[Tom]

why not start your own meningitis vaccine business if you think it's so profitable ?

 

[Sphexi]

I was an RA for two years in school, it cost me $60 and that was considered cheap. The school offset the cost a bit, everybody else had to pay like $93 or something. It was optional, but it was something I went for.

BTW insurance doesn't cover it as far as I know, since it's not a required vaccine. I can't be sure about that though.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Originally posted by: Amused
You're paying for:

The vaccine
The Dr's time (even if you saw him for a minute or two, he and his staff still need to fill out all the paperwork on the visit)
The Dr's insurance. This makes up a significant portion of any bill
Other overhead.

Then, after all that, the Dr gets to make a few bucks. I'm willing to bet he made maybe $20 off of you, if that.

Wasn't a doctor, it was just a nurse. My doctor wasn't even in the office if I wanted to ask him a question. I was literally in the room for under 30 seconds. It's not like they have more than 10 minutes MAX of paperwork to do. All this 'overhead' is pure BS.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: Amused
You're paying for:

The vaccine
The Dr's time (even if you saw him for a minute or two, he and his staff still need to fill out all the paperwork on the visit)
The Dr's insurance. This makes up a significant portion of any bill
Other overhead.

Then, after all that, the Dr gets to make a few bucks. I'm willing to bet he made maybe $20 off of you, if that.

Wasn't a doctor, it was just a nurse. My doctor wasn't even in the office if I wanted to ask him a question. I was literally in the room for under 30 seconds. It's not like they have more than 10 minutes MAX of paperwork to do. All this 'overhead' is pure BS.

Really? Do you know how much it costs a Dr or practice for insurance?

 

[rgwalt]

I bet that your doctor isn't buying the vaccine for $25 and selling it for $83. The vaccine companies have a lot to cover... production costs, testing, R&D, and insurance.

The vaccine companies know that 1 in 10,000 (maybe more, maybe less) vaccines they put out will be "hot", meaning that the organism they are vaccinating against will be alive when they inject it. This will lead to a rediculous law suit which will be covered by the companies insurance.

R

 

[se7en]

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: Amused
You're paying for:

The vaccine
The Dr's time (even if you saw him for a minute or two, he and his staff still need to fill out all the paperwork on the visit)
The Dr's insurance. This makes up a significant portion of any bill
Other overhead.

Then, after all that, the Dr gets to make a few bucks. I'm willing to bet he made maybe $20 off of you, if that.

Wasn't a doctor, it was just a nurse. My doctor wasn't even in the office if I wanted to ask him a question. I was literally in the room for under 30 seconds. It's not like they have more than 10 minutes MAX of paperwork to do. All this 'overhead' is pure BS.

I work in a major hospital and you would be suprised the overhead that is required to make things go. 83$ seems expensive but its really not that bad to be honest.. .. did your arm fall off? Imagine if that nurse wasn't properly trained to give an injection or say, gave you the wrong thing? That would not be good.. .. ..

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Why don't we have insurance that only covers catastrophic events?

We do. It's called major medical insurance.

 

[se7en]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: lnguyen
it's called paying for R&D. and wanting some kind of profit.

So you mean that either the vaccine actually cost somewhere in that region, or that the friendly drones at my local clinic did the R&D?

I'm more suspect that the drones are buying it for $25 or so and charging $83 just because. Most people don't have to pay out of pocket, so it's alright to screw the insurance company and the few that do pay out of pocket, right?

That's the problem with the health insurance system. You pay $200 a month so that you don't have to pay for your $50 checkup twice a year. It's the equivalent of paying $3000 a month in car insurance so that they cover all maintenance work. Why don't we have insurance that only covers catastrophic events?

MD visit where I work go from 123-376$ just for the MD and the average routine bloodwork for an annual is around 550-750$ if you didnt have insurance. Much less if you go see one of our specialist now thats some $$$.. ..want your cholesterol checked?.. ..pfftt not w/o ins.. ..3month sugar check.. ..ppfffttt.