pet insurance

A personal experience from Mary Samples.

I want to share a story about my and Sanford’s recent veterinary visit. He has several chronic conditions that we are managing, and his pet insurance plan is being paid out at 90%.

We are currently trying to manage an upper respiratory condition he’s been struggling with for months now. We were on the phone for my curbside appointment, and his doctor mentioned that we could try a different antibiotic because we could be treating the wrong type of bacteria. Without doing a culture, oftentimes veterinarians have to use their best-educated guess as to which antibiotic to use. While considering changing his antibiotic for the third time, I asked if there was the possibility to test and see if we were treating the right kind of bacteria.

His doctor said there was a test, and she wanted to recommend running it, but it is costly at $350. I quickly reminded her that he’s insured and said go ahead and do it. With 90% coverage, I’ll only be paying $35 of it. We get off the phone, and she calls me back a few minutes later because she thinks there are a few other diagnostics that could help pinpoint some issues and recheck others. Again, I say yes, go for it. The initial recommendation to try another antibiotic ran about $120 with the exam fee. With the new diagnostics added…

My invoice went from about $120 to $880 …

… but I’m thrilled!

We are now treating Sanford with the right antibiotics (we were NOT before)! The test came back showing two different types of bacteria that do not respond to the same antibiotic. We would have likely never figured this out by trial and error. Now Sanford is starting to feel better, and I’m starting to feel better because I’m able to take care of my pup (and I’m able to sleep again since his congestion was keeping him up- then he kept me up!!!) and his doctor was able to practice the best medicine.

The power of pet insurance is it helps pet parents provide the best medical care for their pet while saving them time and money.

Visit our page about Pet Insurance to learn more about your options.