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- Dec 4, 2017
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So Pebbles, our six year old Tabby mix, has obvious breathing issues with attacks of reverse sneezing and coughing.
Our vet wants to figure out what's wrong. We need to do a chest xray. She also wants to do an ultrasound of her heart. And maybe do an endoscopy to check if she might have polyps.
My husband and I are looking at pet insurance because xrays, ultrasounds and the like are going to be very expensive.
I'm honestly very confused. Most pet insurance providers straight up won't cover any pre-existing conditions. But will they cover diagnostics? We're not TREATING the condition, we're trying to diagnose it. Some pet insurance providers also state that while they won't cover chronic conditions, they might cover curable pre-existing conditions.
Considering we don't know what's wrong with Pebbles just yet, we don't know if the condition is curable. If she ends up having polyps, they can be removed and thus, she'd be cured. If she has a heart condition, it may or may not be curable by surgery, depending on what it is. But if she has asthma, it's a life long chronic condition.
Right now, we're less worried about the treatment of a possible chronic condition, as we have a very dedicated vet who is going to help us find the most cost effective way of treating her for whatever she has. Additionally, before we worry about treatment, we need to find out what's wrong.
What we are worried about, however, is the big bills coming toward us to diagnose her. Our vet got us an estimate and the whole list of xrays, ultrasound, lab tests and endoscopy is bordering on $2000. We're currently living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford that.
Will insurances that cover "some pre-existing conditions" cover diagnostics? Will they cover the cost of the "cure" if Pebbles turns out to have a curable condition? I'm so confused.
EDIT: Some insurances cover hereditary and congenital conditions. Again... whatever Pebbles has may or may not be congenital or hereditary...
Our vet wants to figure out what's wrong. We need to do a chest xray. She also wants to do an ultrasound of her heart. And maybe do an endoscopy to check if she might have polyps.
My husband and I are looking at pet insurance because xrays, ultrasounds and the like are going to be very expensive.
I'm honestly very confused. Most pet insurance providers straight up won't cover any pre-existing conditions. But will they cover diagnostics? We're not TREATING the condition, we're trying to diagnose it. Some pet insurance providers also state that while they won't cover chronic conditions, they might cover curable pre-existing conditions.
Considering we don't know what's wrong with Pebbles just yet, we don't know if the condition is curable. If she ends up having polyps, they can be removed and thus, she'd be cured. If she has a heart condition, it may or may not be curable by surgery, depending on what it is. But if she has asthma, it's a life long chronic condition.
Right now, we're less worried about the treatment of a possible chronic condition, as we have a very dedicated vet who is going to help us find the most cost effective way of treating her for whatever she has. Additionally, before we worry about treatment, we need to find out what's wrong.
What we are worried about, however, is the big bills coming toward us to diagnose her. Our vet got us an estimate and the whole list of xrays, ultrasound, lab tests and endoscopy is bordering on $2000. We're currently living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford that.
Will insurances that cover "some pre-existing conditions" cover diagnostics? Will they cover the cost of the "cure" if Pebbles turns out to have a curable condition? I'm so confused.
EDIT: Some insurances cover hereditary and congenital conditions. Again... whatever Pebbles has may or may not be congenital or hereditary...
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