Woman Called ‘Tacky’ For Expecting Reimbursement For The EpiPen She Used To Save Another Woman’s Life
PeopleImages | Shutterstock A woman named Chad reignited the never-ending debate about the cost of healthcare after sharing the pretty odd experience she had when a stranger saved her life with her own EpiPen.
KFF, an organization that supports health policy, reported that Americans spent an astounding $4.9 trillion on healthcare in 2023. It makes sense, then, that people need to use any method available to save money on medical costs. Unfortunately, there’s no official etiquette for what you should do when you save someone else’s life, which would have really helped Chad out.
Chad needed an EpiPen, and another woman gave her one, but it came with a stipulation.
In a post on X, Chad said, “The girl who gave me an EpiPen when I was doing the whole anaphylactic shock thing told me I could Venmo her for the EpiPen, and maybe I’m a bad person, but I think she’s tacky for that.”
The post has been viewed 1.5 million times, so it’s no surprise that plenty of people weighed in with their thoughts on the matter. If Chad was hoping for some support, she was seriously disappointed. Almost every comment pointed out how expensive EpiPens are.
“I don’t think her allergies go away when you stay in the hospital,” one person said. Another added, “I don’t think it’s really outrageous to ask for compensation for a life-saving medicine that’s for emergency situations.” A third person noted, “I don’t think it’s tacky to ask, although I probably wouldn’t.”
EpiPens are very expensive, as are many other prescription medications.
According to prescription savings provider SingleCare, brand-name EpiPens come in a two-pack that costs $815 without insurance coverage. There are generics that cost less, as well as coupons you can use with different pharmacies to get a better deal. Still, that’s an enormous amount of money.
Of course, health insurance should cover part of the cost, but that only applies if you’re actually insured. Census Bureau data showed that 8% of Americans didn’t have health coverage as of 2023.
Additionally, a report from the Bank of America Institute found that roughly a quarter of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, meaning they can pay their bills but have absolutely nothing left over for savings or emergency expenses. If someone is in that situation, they’re definitely not going to be able to spend nearly $1,000 on a prescription, even if it is life-saving.
This seems unprecedented, so it’s tough to say what the right thing to do was.
There’s really not one specific answer for why medication costs so much money. Physician Robert H. Shmerling, MD, theorized that it comes from a combination of drug companies seeking to make money, expensive advertising, and higher insurance costs. It does feel like people in the wealthiest country in the world shouldn’t have to deal with those things, though.
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Of course, that’s just a dream and not reality. With the way the healthcare industry stands now, patients are often stuck paying exorbitant prices for care, even when they are insured. This means that in the case of a medicine like an EpiPen that literally saves lives, many people will feel like their survival has a price attached.
There’s really no way to say whether the woman who gave her EpiPen to Chad was wrong to ask for reimbursement or not. It does feel a bit questionable to ask someone who came close to losing their life to pay for their trouble. But, on the other hand, EpiPens are not cheap by any means, and that woman needs access to one just as much as Chad did. It’s possible that she would have no other way to replace her EpiPen than for Chad to step in.
This is a unique circumstance, and it seems like it would have been better handled if Chad and the other woman had discussed their differing views in person instead of taking the argument to social media.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
