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How to Deal With Large Vet Bills

How to Deal With Large Vet Bills

By Daniel C. Daniel C. Verified by Richard C. Richard C. Last updated: July 14, 2024 (0)

Human pet parents would do anything to spare their pets the suffering of an accident or illness and see their furry children healthy and happy again. However, there are times when the treatment for an illness is just too expensive. Sadly, there are cases when economic euthanasia is taken into consideration by pet owners. To avoid such a scenario, pet parents have different options at hand to make sure they can afford the high expenses of treatment for their pets.

Can pet insurance help with a huge vet bill?

Pet insurance comes in handy for recovering the expenses of a high vet bill. However, keep in mind that the pet owner will generally have to be the one who pays the hefty vet bill up front. Usually, only after the invoice is paid, will the pet insurance provider reimburse the pet’s human parent.

This means for example, if you rack up a $3,000 vet bill for your dog’s cruciate ligament treatment, you will have to pay the vet the entire amount. Only after that will the provider will send you its share of the payment (the reimbursement). Therefore, whether you have pet insurance or not, you’re going to have to pay a huge amount of money to the vet office.

What can be done if paying this large amount of money is not an option for the pet owner? If you know that your financial situation doesn’t allow for such payments, the solution lies in finding a pet insurance company that directly pays the vet.

Insurance that directly pays the vet

Trupanion

One such company is Trupanion, which offers an optional Direct Vet Pay service. Mind you, even though this company does not impose any age, annual, or lifetime limits, it does have deductibles which have to be paid to the vet no matter what. These deductibles with Trupanion are lifetime, per-illness ones.

For instance, if you have agreed upon a per-illness deductible of $500 for your dog and he develops cruciate ligaments after the waiting period has passed, the amount you will still have to pay with this provider is $500 for that specific condition alone. Obviously, that’s besides the co-insurance amount and the monthly premium you’ll have to pay.

Then, the company will send the vet office 90% of the rest of the entire bill, if you have opted for Direct Vet Pay. That leaves you to pay for the remaining 10% of the vet bill which represents the co-insurance amount, in this case – $250. That comes to a total of $750 that you’ll have to pay the vet, in this instance.

Pets Best

Another company that offers the option of direct payment to the vet is Pets Best. This option is called Vet Direct Pay and it can be activated if you send the insurance provider a signed copy of its veterinarian reimbursement release form along with a filled in claim.

This means that with Pets Best, if you have an unexpected, huge vet bill, all you will have to pay is the deductible, the co-insurance amount, and any items that are not covered by this insurance provider.

In the $3,000 cruciate ligament example, with Pets Best you would have to pay the deductible, say $250, plus your share of the coverage (co-insurance amount), say 20% of the remaining vet bill, in this case – $550. That makes for a total of $800 that you’ll have to pay the vet out of your own pocket.

Other options available for huge vet bills

In case you don’t have pet insurance for your pet or your provider does not offer direct vet payment, there are still a range of options available, such as:

• Using preventive care: Perhaps the most important of these options is this one. Preventive care implies vaccines, offering the pet the right diet, avoiding over-vaccination in order to boost the pet’s immune system, having enough physical activity, keeping the pet company, and ensuring a relaxing and caring environment.
• Negotiating paying in installments with the vet.
• Getting a personal loan.
• Using a credit card.


Editors' choice
Trupanion logo
Editor's rating:
(4)
Simple plan structure
24/7 customer care
Good coverage
No payout caps
Budget-friendly
Lemonade logo
Editor's rating:
(4)
Quick reimbursement process
Customizable policy
Several handy add-ons
Responsive customer support
Multiple pets
Pet Assure logo
Editor's rating:
(4)
Budget friendly
No risk
Accepts exotic petss
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