A “rape kit” is NOT medical care. Its forensic evidence collection. It would be the same thing as if a you a victim of a violent crime were billed for the hours a police officer put into solving your case.

isn’t that what you, the tax payer pay your taxes for?

From what I’ve read, the typical rape kit consists of about $1.59 worth of specimen jars and q-tips, and the typical hospital rapes the insurance company for close to $2000 for the 5 minute exam.

(Not that I’m bitter about what hospitals charge–until last year when my adult lazy uninsured child went to an ER because he had the flu and I got a bill for $3000 for him spending 20 minutes and not getting so much as an aspirin).

Ok, a couple hundred dollars is warranted when doing a rape kit exam to test if the victim got an STD. Other than that, I’ll bet nothing much is ever done with the exam results, except for storing them in an uncontrolled environment where they’ll be worthless in 3 months, or if there is more done, there are additional charges to the DA’s office. Not that I’m cynical about the government…

Now, I’m not necessarily defending the practice of billing insurance companies for rape kits, but on the other hand–Let’s try a little thought experiment. Let’s say I got mugged and beaten up pretty good.

Does the police department automatically pay for my stitches and other medical bills? Or does the bill go to my insurance, and then I have to submit a claim to the victim’s compensation board in my state for anything left over out of pocket?

(BTW, I’m glad the cops don’t automatically pay for every crime victim they drive to an ER. If they had to, I’ll bet not only would they get told their ticket quotas every morning, but they’d be told to drive on by when they notice people bleeding in the gutter.)

I know there’s a difference in my mugging example from the rape kit case. Paying my medical bills doesn’t assist the government in investigating the crime. And the rape kit doesn’t contribute to helping the victim recover medically–well, oops, some of it does. The STD test part.

At the least, we can agree that the government should pay for the part of the rape kit that helps the investigation.

And, that if government should pay for STD tests for her, it should pay for stitches for me. Crime victims are crime victims and their costs are not their fault.

So if government should pay for all of the rape kit, that would result in cops leaving bleeding people lying in the gutters. (I’ve skipped or implied a few logical steps, trusting that readers of this blog are smart enough to fill them in.) If you’re lost at this point, take an Econ 101 class.

Fact: Wasilla is not unique. The controversy about charging insurance companies for rape kits has been going on in multiple states.

Bottom Line: Rape is bad. Other crimes hurt people too. Cops aren’t as bright as you wish they were. If you think the system will save you, you’re probably going to get raped or mugged and be left wondering why.