Health insurance - a must

[EmmaDemma]

For me, it's more cost efficient to use Care Credit and my Rainy Day fund. Yes, I pay more in the long run. But I have a limited paycheck and it's much better for me to pay $10-$20 each paycheck for a use on my Care Credit or Rainy Day fund(til amount use is paid off) than to pay atleast $40 a month. The Care Credit also doesn't cost me a single penny when I do not use it. So that was a major plus for me.

[Loconn55]

Thanks for all the insight, people. I'm concerned, like Mary, about up-front costs and also about eligibility, as all 5 of my pugs and the 3 cats are rescues/messed-up/oldsters. Worth making some phone calls. And Emma, the CareCredit sounds like a great option; worth cleaning up my credit.

[EmmaDemma]

CareCredit is the only way I built up my credit. Credit cards scared me, but having 1 specific card that I literally could only use for doctors, vets and other medical expenses is a great idea. When I joined, my 1st year(or month?) was interest free and in that time my sister's dog broke her leg getting it caught in her metal crate. Paid with my CareCredit and my sister paid me to pay it off.

[AMC7181]

Is there any company that does a copay for these situations like human insurance?

None that I'm aware of. There aren't electronic communications methods in place to allow for a vet to "check eligibility" and communicate with a pet insurance company; the vet is really not involved at all with the insurance company. Everything is pay-up-front and then get reimbursed.

Now, maybe it would be possible to work something out with a vet to make a partial payment and then submit the claim to the pet insurance company, but a vet willing to do that is taking a risk that they'll never get paid, since the payment is made to the pet parent. I'm absolutely not suggesting you'd do that - just explaining why it's a concern from the vet's perspective. It would be much less risky if the pet insurance companies paid the providers directly.

[kardawg]

I had to do 2 different credit cards for Chico offered through the vet hospital. I was lucky enough to have qualified as this was emergency surgery and so expensive I didn't have nearly that kind of money. It was Care Credit and another one I can't remember, one is interest free for a year and the other for 6 months. I wish I had listened when I was told to get pet insurance. Just make sure when you choose a plan to call and go over pug related issues (some plans don't cover certain things). I am happy with Healthy Paws plan and even though I hope I never have to use it I never want to be in the position of not having the money if he gets sick again.

[maryluvspugs]

i signed on with VPI today. I got the major medical & the wellness/preventative plan. It will cover Liv's upcoming spay surgery as well as flea & heartworm preventative. basically, the two plans together cover everything except for grooming and elective surgery. i feel good about. asked around and that seemed to be a popular company. found out theyre owned by nationwide. you can get a quote on the website with an online form and w/o a commitment. doing both coverages with VPI was still less than some of the other companies' emergency plans.

[pepperoo]

Will a high deductible health plan will make us save more in terms of pet insurance? I'm currently planning to get one for Chloe and I would be more inclined to get one if it is somehow affordable.

[SiennasMommy]

I have Healthy Paws. I have a 250 deductible and 80 % coverage and it's not per incident which i liked. It costs about 37 a month. This plan doesn't cover dental or normal checkups. I did a lot of research and called them with the what if this happens.....Unfortunately I didn't have it when he was sick (it was over 5,000) and it will never cover any preexisting conditions but he will be covered for most issues. There is a website I used to compare plans but I can't remember what it is

Another one here with Healthy Paws. They cover claims fairly quickly.