Pet insurance: Vet bills made me weak in the knees

For the past six months, our 17-month old terrier mix, Willis Magillis, had a problem with his kneecaps—they kept popping out of place. Strangely enough, he never appeared to be bothered by the malfunctioning joint, but merely inconvenienced as it interrupted his running and wrestling. So, he would tripod around until I could catch him in mid-sprint to slide the cap back where it belonged on the joint. Eventually, his right knee would no longer stay in the joint at all and it was clear that his left knee wasn’t going to hold out very long either. So, it was off to the vet for the inevitable. My furbaby needed surgery on both of his tiny knees. We had a consultation with the doctor months prior so it didn’t come as a surprise, but I guess we were holding out for a miracle.
His surgery was a success and his knees were repaired. The diagnosis? Little Willis had a birth defect. Apparently, there is a groove in the joint that the knee cap rests in. On the right knee, Willis had no groove and on the left he had more of a slight dip in the joint, but not nearly enough to hold the kneecap in place. Bravely, his veterinarian operated on both of his knees in the same surgical session creating a half inch groove in each knee that would hold his kneecaps. This procedure came to the tune of approximately $875 and I nearly fell to the floor in dismay. Four days after surgery, Willis had to be treated at the doggy emergency room for an infection in one of his incisions. There went another $100.
Several friends had mentioned that they had a health insurance policy for their pet. I always thought the concept was absolutely insane and had to be a scam. However, after that surgery, my position began to change and I asked more questions. Soon, I was nose-pressed to my laptop searching for information about health insurance programs for pets. My findings proved that this may not be such an insane expense to incur after all.
There were three companies that stood out beyond the rest for me: Pets Best Insurance, VPI Insurance (Veterinary Pet Insurance), and PetCare Pet Insurance Programs. All offered a variety of different plans accommodating the needs of each individual pet. All of the monthly premiums were comparable in price within the same level of benefits. These prices ranged from approximately $15 to $50 a month depending on the amount of coverage chosen and information given about the pet being insured.
Just like health insurance for people, lower deductibles mean higher monthly premiums and lower monthly premiums mean higher deductibles. All three options listed the same things that the companies’ would reimburse the policyholder for—ranging from 70% to 90% of the bill after the deductible is paid by the policyholder. Here is what is covered: Illnesses, accidents, emergencies, treatments, hospitalization, diagnostic and lab tests, prescription medication, surgeries, MRI’s, CAT Scans, X-rays and a few other miscellaneous medical procedures. In addition, non-traditional treatments were covered like chiropractic therapy, acupuncture, holistic care and care provided from several specialists. The pet owner submits a claim form provided by the insurance company and a reimbursement check is issued within five to thirty days. Seems simple enough.
There are a few small differences when I studied the companies side-by-side. While they all offer a 5% to 10% discount when enrolling multiple pets, PetCare Pet Insurance Programs offer multi-pet discounts, microchipping discounts, and group benefit discounts. VPI Insurance is the nation’s oldest and largest health insurance plan for pets and is available in all fifty states. I found VPI Insurance’s website (http://www.petinsurance.com) to be much more user friendly than Pets Best Insurance’s website (http://www.petsbest.com) and PetCare Pet Insurance Programs’ website (http://www.petcareinsurance.com).
When reading about all the policies’ exclusions regarding pre-existing conditions, many hereditary disorders and breed-specific conditions; I developed a headache because it seemed as if the information was written to specifically confuse the general populace. It appears that carrying a policy that includes coverage for basic yearly exams, vaccinations and diagnostic testing would not be very cost effective because the additional cost for the coverage is higher than the actual charges for those services.
Despite some confusion, I see the benefit of having health insurance for a pet because it relieves some of the stress involved in making a medical decision because high prices can frighten us from getting our pet the proper medical care. So, actually, pet insurance can be a financial security blanket when unexpected medical emergencies arise. Each company has something to offer for every pet owner depending on the pet’s specific needs. Each also provides several coverage options so there is always an affordable option to accommodate the pet owner’s financial situation. It seems to me that I really couldn’t go wrong by getting coverage for my pets.
When I adopted my two boys, I made a commitment to provide them with the best care for the rest of their lives and I believe that carrying health insurance for them could only strengthen that promise. When budgeting for the month, there are several luxuries that we are willing to sacrifice so that we have the $40 premium to ensure that our dogs are getting proper medical care when needed. Plus, I want them with me for as long as possible because healthy dogs make for a happy household ‘round these pet-friendly parts.
You can e-mail Rachel Pelizzari at rachel_pelzz@hotmail.com.