re: Pet Insurance

Late to the thread and i havent read thru it.. but pet insurance saved me somewhere in the neighborhood of $12-15k usd over the course of my dog’s life… about once a year he’d develop something that would require surgery, or a procedure, or he’d have an accident .. and seemed like it usually ran from about $900 -$1500 per episode.. i had a couple different pet insurance companies over about 10 years and they’d typically pay 90% of the bill .. premiums started about $20 per month and towards the end were like $65 per month .


And no i didnt have a wellness plan, i paid for those visits out of pocket .

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When you have doctors, pharmacies and insurance all playing the game

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In veterinary medicine? Explain to me how you think that works

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The scam is mostly in the pricing. When you have doctors, pharmacies and insurance all playing the game, the patient gets scammed.

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There arent a lot of people with pet insurance. that isnt a major factor. There nothing to gain from "gaming that system". Vets dont get kickbacks from pharmacies. They call scripts in and the pharmacy makes the money. end of story. Most vets actually hate calling in scripts because those cock sucker pharmacists will alawys change our scripts because they think they know better (i kid my pharmacists friends......sort of).

This elaborate network of schemes is all in your fricking head. watch less conspiracy theories. Maybe consider not owning a pet (for love of God that would be awesome).

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You're right that not every vet is a scam artist but generally, they are nickel and diming you every chance they get.

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OR,
big maybe here,
they have to cover paying off student loans, pay their staff, pay high property rates for big buildings in commercial areas, pay off expensive machines, provide quality medical care with tools and medicine, and be a part time psychiatrists for you nut jobs, and because of all of that and more, charging an appropriate amount.

I have akc insurance on all my dogs. The one time I filed a claim, they paid with no issue.

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This elaborate network of schemes is all in your fricking head. watch less conspiracy theories.

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I think vast majority of the time it is simply a lapse in communication between the owner and the vet.

Most owners have very little medical knowledge let alone understand animals are very different than humans. So if vets cant properly communicate the issue, possibilities, potential outcomes, etc. then it makes it impossible for the owner to understand the value of the course of treatment.

Ear infections are a perfect example. Countless owners think, ear infection, ok script me an antibiotic so I dont have to come in.

They dont understand ears dont work like that in dogs. There can be numerous things to cause ear infections in dogs and what exactly is going on can only be determined by a cytology. What does/doesnt show up on the cytology determines what you can/can't use. Certain medications can make it much worse and others can can fix it quick. Some are compounded and need to be administered at the hospital while others can be scripted.

Owners take something simple like that an assume vets are only about money while they want a phone consult for a script that they then take to another pharmacy. The vet risks a board complaint while the hospital makes zero money practicing improper medicine.

I looked at the cost and it was about $10k over the life of the pet. I usually spend around $10k or more over the life of my pet on vet care so I figured why not try it out. It has worked in my favor significantly so far.

This is my family dog and my wife and kids absolutely adore her. I never want it to come down to it costing too much to keep the dog alive.