Indiana Woman Airlifted To Hospital After Snakebite Gets A $46,000 Bill

An Indiana woman’s hospital visit after snakebite during a hiking trip almost cost her $46,000.

Jennifer Hay and her husband, Randy, were on a hiking trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary when she was bitten by a venomous snake. The woman was immediately airlifted to a local hospital and was given the necessary treatment to ensure she was out of harm's way. When she returned home, however, Jennifer was stunned to find out that the flight was not going to be covered by insurance and that she had to pay $46,000.

Speaking to WAVE, Jennifer said she and her husband decided to hike in the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois to celebrate their 13^th anniversary.

"We’ve been together since 2003, so we’ve done a ton of hiking over the years. We love to hike, we’ve been all over, and that was one place, kind of local that we really hadn’t been before," she told the outlet.

Jennifer was bitten when they were hiking back to the truck at the end of their first day.

"Just trekking along having a good time and all of the sudden I just felt this sharp pain, I didn’t really know what had happened. I thought, I had got stung, so I took a few more steps and I knew it was more than a sting," Jennifer said, adding that she turned back and saw a Copperhead snake just a few feet away.

Paramedics arrived at the scene and told the woman that they had to rush her to the hospital. As it was a 45-minute ambulance ride away, the woman called a helicopter.

Jennifer was flown to the hospital but luckily, didn’t need an antivenom. She was released and recovered at home.

The woman was anxious throughout as she didn’t know what her insurance was going to cover. One day, she got a message saying that she had to pay $46,000.

"$46,000 bill for something that you needed that insurance should cover, it’s heartbreaking," she told the outlet.

Luckily, the No Surprises Act, a new law by Kentucky’s second district Congressman Brett Guthrie that will take effect New Years Day, helped Jennifer. The law would help stop these kinds of surprise bills from being sent to patients. The Congressman said that insurance companies and providers would be required to negotiate the rest of the bill themselves, CNN reported.

Jennifer’s flight charges are now being covered. "That’s why we pay those big premiums, it’s to be covered when we’re in an accident, and not have to fight with an insurance company over it," she told WAVE.