Privately insured female rape victims frequently pick up part of the tab for care related to their sexual assault, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
For the study, researchers analyzed 1,355 rapes using 2013 de-identified patient data from Truven Analytics Health MarketScan database.
The study found privately insured female rape victims pay on average $948, or 14 percent, of the rape cost, and insurance providers pay an average of $5,789, or 86 percent of the total cost.
Researchers said insurance providers and victims overall paid more than $9 million for rape-related care in 2013, with the average cost per case being more than $6,700, according to Reuters.
Under the Violence Against Women Act, states must pay for sexual assault forensic exams. But hospital billing procedures often include additional medical services outside of those exams, and forensic costs also vary depending on the state, according to Reuters.
Of the 1,355 victims studied, 27 percent paid more than 25 percent of the medical costs they incurred on the day of their hospital visit, while approximately 7 percent paid more than 50 percent, reports Reuters, adding that a vast majority — about 63 percent — of patients incurred additional charges, such as prescriptions, up to a month after their rape.
"Hospital billing procedures for privately insured victims of rape across the United States are not separate from billing procedures for privately insured non-rape patients. This standardized procedure leads hospitals to bill victims directly for services not paid under the victims' insurance policy," the study's authors concluded.
Researchers called for amendment of the Violence Against Women Act "to mandate that all costs incurred because of rape are not passed on to the victim."