Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/14/my-dogs-medical-insurance-is.html
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Well done! You and Nemo both!
And it’s making me wish I’d got more coverage for my GP, though he’s eight and a half with (touch wood) all four legs still working. A little creaky in the mornings sometimes, but still able to leap a series of six-foot fences in pursuit of a particularly cheeky cat.
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I love Nemo from a distance and am so glad he’s on the road to recovery!
I will definitely be looking into insurance for the kitten who just adopted me, a part (?) Manx named Trelane and I’ll see if I can get it for my 12-year-old Norwegian Forest Cat, Han Solo. This past summer, I went through a fairly expensive end-of-life Lymphoma with 17 1/2 year old Princess Gem with no insurance.
Thank you for the recommendation.
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Sorry that your puppers went through that, but glad to hear he’s recovering. I hope the family is handling it well despite all the household chaos. Sorry also about your back and hope it’s getting back to normal.
I will start with the absolute shame I feel: the first thing I said to my veterinarian, as she told me my 125 lb Great Pyrenees rescue, Nemo, likely needed double CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) surgery, was “Fuck, what will that cost me?”
Taking finances into account is not something you should feel shame about. If this were a human member of the family you’d be asking that question to a doctor sooner or later. That’s what insurance should be there for, and it’s great that it worked out in this case.
Life would be a lot more difficult and honestly, this has gone easier than most of my human medical insurance interactions.
I find that’s the case for a lot of health- and death-related situations in the U.S.
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Man, it’s REALLY odd seeing Nemo’s dog shaved like that. I hope the next surgery and PT go well.
I was debating whether to get my pretty-darn-healthy German shepherd Ivory health insurance. My last dog had it, and the insurance helped a bit in her final month dealing with lymphoma, but coverage from more reliable providers costs a lot more now.
Unfortunately, she got a “whoa-oh!” warning after having some x-rays done. (She had begun limping badly after a visit to a dog park.) There’s a “sclerosis” on her foreleg that might be a really-fucking-bad form of bone cancer.
If follow-up x-rays in two months don’t show that the spot has grown, I’m going to sign her up for insurance. If she has osteosarcoma . . . well, it will be a matter of a month or so of pain control, then a final trip to the vet when she’s too uncomfortable to go on.
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Ohhh, this was helpful. I just contacted Trupanion about adding on the PT rider to my dog’s policy. Didn’t even realize that was available. Thanks to you and Nemo!
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We’re letting the best dog ever go on Fri.
Right now REALLY sucks.
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Pet insurance is definitely worth it.
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Sorry to hear that. A couple of months ago a close friend had to euthanise his pet. As a member of the doge’s family I was at the vet’s to say goodbye. We were there for 3 hours, with the vet’s encouragement to stay as long as we needed to. It’s hard, but you’re doing the right thing for your pal.
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I have said before the Insurance is gambling on Human suffering. It appears at least in this case that this is still true.
Well, no. Insurance companies are in it to make a profit. If everybody gets more out than they put in, there is no insurance industry. (Waits for endless anecdotes about how pet insurance was totally worth it)
Thank you for your encouragement.
He can’t really stand.
He can walk pretty well, short distances.
But he’s a pittie mix and he’s over 15.
So, um, it’s a tough decision, really tough.
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This pet insurance sounds far better than any human insurance in the United States I can think of.
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Vet bills are a fraction of human bills too.
Will be interesting to see what happens as vet insurance changes the game from single payer to cluster fuck.
tragically, i have been unable to find anyone who will underwrite health insurance for our pet python.
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Feel better Nemo!
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How is it currently single-payer? Sounds like there are multiple private insurance companies operating.
Im looking forward in time when insurance companies dictate the industry, and from what I can tell that hasn’t happened yet despite the proliferation of insurance. Im guessing the percentage of people walking into a vets office with insurance is still low.
I actually work for a pet insurance company, and this is true. All are for profit companies, but the amount of profits are limited by the DOI. But the math is true, figure operating expenses plus a few percent profit, and that’s still a lot of money not going to payment to insureds.
I honestly tell everyone when they ask if they should have insurance that it’s like every other sort of non-mandatory insurance. Can they afford huge surgery costs out of pocket? If so, then don’t take the gamble, and pay out of pocket for your med expenses. Statistically, you’re not likely to recoup your premium.
However, if your financial situation would not let you plonk down several thousand for emergency services or surgery (and you’re the variety of per owner that would do so if possible), then by all means do get insurance. It really is for big unpredictable medical events that insurance really pays off on. Sort of an “unlucky lottery”. Sometimes insurance can mean the difference between being able to provide the best medical care vs not being able to, or having to choose to euthanize a pet in what could otherwise be a recoverable situation.
That being said, if you do get insurance, from any company, please do read your policy language and become familiar with exactly what it is you’ve purchased. Most of the plans from most of the companies do not work like most human insurance plans that you’re probably familiar with.
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Well said. My experience with human health insurance: Self insurance is cheaper statistically speaking, but paying for insurance provides peace of mind not having to worry as much about cost, which leads to more and therefore better care.
