What did anemic people do before the modern iron infusions turned up? Seems like this isn’t just an American deficiency? true elsewhere too re the cost? In the

What did anemic people do before the modern iron infusions turned up? Seems like this isn’t just an American deficiency? true elsewhere too re the cost? In the past 3 months, 5 people (all women..only one American) have informed me that they take intra muscular shots of iron. Two of them as often as once a month. It seems really odd. Also..worthy for the annals of what-the-fuckery : [..] The hospital initially had billed more than $14,000 per vial of Injectafer. Since her treatment was in network, Rothenberg's insurance plan negotiated a much cheaper rate: about $1,600 per vial. She received two vials. Insurance paid a portion, but Rothenberg still owed the hospital $2,733, based on what was still unpaid in her family's $9,000 deductible.[..] [..] Doctors are supposed to recommend infusions only if patients don't respond to iron pills or dietary changes, Pollock says. Instead of steering patients toward "unnecessarily costly" infusions, physicians should determine the underlying cause of low iron and treat that directly. Injectafer, which Rothenberg received, is one of the most expensive infusions, retailing for more than $1,000 a vial. And, as Rothenberg learned the hard way, hospitals can charge privately insured patients whatever they choose. Insurers then negotiate that hospital "list price" down. An analysis of private insurance claims conducted by the Health Care Cost Institute, an independent research group funded by insurers, found that in 2017, private health plans paid $4,316 per visit, on average, if a patient received Injectafer infusions. Feraheme, the next most expensive infusion drug, cost private plans $3,087 per visit, while the other three on the market were considerably cheaper. Infed was $1,502, Venofer $825 and Ferrlecit $412, the institute found, in an analysis for Kaiser Health News.[..]