Shaker Heights couple faces $12,000 bill after bat encounter

hio (WOIO) - A Shaker Heights couple still doesn't understand why they were charged thousands of dollars for only $60 of rabies vaccines.

"I'm frustrated, a little bit unsure where to go next," said Ophira Dar.

Dar explains on an August Saturday night, she and her husband, Jacob, found a bat in their Warwick Road home.

She recalls the moment they found in in their bedroom: "Screaming, because it was a very shocking discovery."

Thankfully, they weren't bit, and were able to catch and release the bat. But Dar went online to research the incident, and saw the Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommends a series of rabies vaccines called PEP—the first doses of which are only available in hospitals—if they are unable to test the bat.

"It's a high-risk exposure when you've been sleeping in with a bat in your room for rabies," Dar said. "We went right the next morning, as soon as it happened."

The Dar couple visited University Hospitals to receive the doses. One month later, they received an eye-popping $60,000 total bill—$12,000 after insurance.

However, according to the Dars' United Healthcare insurance plan, the PEP vaccines are meant to only cost $15.

"There were a lot of swear words, which I will not verbalize here," Dar said.

The Board of Health claims the Dar couple should have reported the exposure to them first, before going to an emergency room.

"We want very much to be able to collect the bat and send it to our lab for rabies testing," Cuyahoga County Board of Health member Stacey Koltas said. "Most of the time, the bat comes back negative, and then the shots are not necessary."

Even so, why such a huge bill? University Hospitals explains to 19 News that they're investigating the issue to provide a detailed answer.

Dar has also reached out to hospital and insurance representatives to discuss the discrepancy between the price of the vaccines on her insurance and the hefty final bill, all of which have led to few new details.

Despite receiving little information, Dar isn't taking no for an answer, and is looking to take her story to her state representative.

"Right now, I'm not holding on to faith. I'm holding on to action, which is why I contacted you guys [19 News]," Dar said.