Any kind of sting is bound to be a pain in the [insert part of the body that has been stung]. But even the zap of a scorpion’s tail would feel like nothing when confronted with an astronomical hospital bill for treating it. And by astronomical, we mean $83,046 for two doses of anti-venom treatment. Ouch.

First of all, I just have to say that I would never ever like to be stung by a scorpion and basically feel like it would be the worst thing to have happen, not to mention yucky and creepy and crawly and all that goes with those critters. But the Arizona woman who suffered from the sting wasn’t done with her anguish when she left the hospital after treatment last year. Things only got worse when she opened up that $83K bill, reports The Arizona Republic.

The hospital charged her $25,537 after her insurance covered the rest of the tab, which is still quite a pretty penny. Especially when you consider that that same anti-venom is made in Mexico where it’s sold for $100 a dose by pharmacies. Hospitals like the one where she was treated pay about $3,780 per dose of venom to distributors of the stuff, which is already a big markup but yeah, come on. Something’s broken in this scorpion sting treatment system and it needs to be fixed.

The good news is that the hospital has realized that this is a crazy situation and have apologize to the woman, saying they’re  “working directly” with her to “adjust the high out-of-network cost” of the anti-venom.

Antivenom bill’s sting [The Arizona Republic]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.