Healthy Paws V. Vpi

[inugrey]

I know we hash this topic out every few months but I'm gonna start this topic again anyway. And no, I'm not interested in starting a savings account for her rather than buying insurance.

 

I have used VPI for years and we've had no major issues with using them. It's time to insure our newbie and everyone sings the praises of Healthy Paws. But I mean why is it $10 a month better than VPI. Do they have a better pay out for claims?

 

In doing my reading it seems Healthy Paws basically asks no questions once you get past the $250 deductible. Is that for real? They must have price limits to procedures and such, especially in the DC area.

 

I'm just used to what I'm used to but I want to fully understand why Healthy Paws gets such high reviews. Thanks all!

[NeylasMom]

No price limits. You get reimbursed the % you choose (I believe the options are still 80 or 90%) after your deductible is met. The deductible is annual, which is much preferable to Trupanion's per incident deduction imo. They clearly state what is covered and what isn't (namely exams and routine dental care). I have never had them ask for documentation or vet records that I can recall for anything and any time there has been a mistake, I have contacted them and they've corrected it immediately. I had VPI for many years and no, just no. Healthy Paws is so much better. They also have an app so before I even leave the vet's office, I just take a photo of my receipt with my phone and submit it through the app. Check is in the mail, typically a few days later to a week later though processing times have been a bit slower lately I've noticed. If you have specific questions, let me know.

 

When you are comparing premiums make sure you are comparing the same ded and reimbursement amount, also make sure you account that HP gives a rescue discount so you need to make sure you check that box when you get your estimate.

[MP_the4pack]

I had VPI for years.

 

I actually had the chance to compare apples to apples.

 

Two dogs. Both 1 night stay at hospital for gastritis. Same size bill. One dog had VPI and the other Healthy Paws.

 

HP paid 90% (my option) of the multi-thousand dollar bill, minus the office visit.

VPI paid about 40%. When I asked them why so low, they said that's what the schedule stated. And when I complained how archaic the schedule was they replied that their insurance was only supposed to assist with the bills, not cover them.

 

That did it for me. I had been with them for a decade. I had 6 dogs with them. When I left VPI for HP I never looked back.

[KF_in_Georgia]

VPI paid me 25 cents on the dollar in a $4,500 vet bill. They paid a percentage of their allowable, and their allowable was ridiculously low, especially if your dog wound up in the ER.

 

I now have Healthy Paws. First claim on my boy--$250 deductible, 80% copay--my bills were $1276, and Healthy Paws paid $663. (They don't pay for doctors' exams, which I think is silly, but they paid for all the x-rays and diagnostic stuff.) Also, while they don't pay for prophylactic dental care, they did pay--without complaint--for dental trauma. (The boy hooked a canine over a wire on his crate, panicked, and jerked his head. Broke the tooth up in the root, and did it on Saturday, so it was expensive surgery at the ER.)

 

[NeylasMom]

VPI paid me 25 cents on the dollar in a $4,500 vet bill. They paid a percentage of their allowable, and their allowable was ridiculously low, especially if your dog wound up in the ER.

 

I now have Healthy Paws. First claim on my boy--$250 deductible, 80% copay--my bills were $1276, and Healthy Paws paid $663. (They don't pay for doctors' exams, which I think is silly, but they paid for all the x-rays and diagnostic stuff.) Also, while they don't pay for prophylactic dental care, they did pay--without complaint--for dental trauma. (The boy hooked a canine over a wire on his crate, panicked, and jerked his head. Broke the tooth up in the root, and did it on Saturday, so it was expensive surgery at the ER.)

 

 

To add to the dental portion - when Violet had a bad reaction after her routine dental and was transferred to the ER, Healthy Paws paid all of the emergency portion of the bill, no questions asked. Because they were both at the same facility, but through two different departments I literally had the front desk person go through and mark when some things were split. For instance, if she had had fluids during the dental and in emergency care, she would make 1/2 to indicate one of the 2 was the emergency care. HP gave me no issues about this.

[inugrey]

searching for the rescue button now....

 

Thank you for these stories. It's nice to see it's a bit more clear what they will pay. It is always a craps shoot knowing what our reimbursement will be from VPI. Researching when the rates start to go up, at what age to.

[NeylasMom]

searching for the rescue button now....

 

Thank you for these stories. It's nice to see it's a bit more clear what they will pay. It is always a craps shoot knowing what our reimbursement will be from VPI. Researching when the rates start to go up, at what age to.

Just use the link I sent to you. I think it gets you the same discount.

[fastpointydoge]

Thanks for this thread! I have been wanting to compare insurance companies and hadn't gotten around to it yet.

[seeh2o]

I live in Los Angeles and veterinary care here is very expensive, Healthy Paw's has no price limits at all. Bowie began limping a year ago Thanksgiving, she had 3 sets of xrays and a bone scan, which were all inconclusive, but osteo was suspected. They've paid for everything all along the way. I'm guessing they are in for close to $10,000 at this point in claims for her. They've never once questioned a claim. I couldn't be happier with them!

[inugrey]

Just use the link I sent to you. I think it gets you the same discount.

Just opened my email, thanks!

[RaineysMom]

boy, I sure wish I had gotten insurance for all of our dogs. We've spent in the tens of thousands on the 4 of them since 2005.... Probably too late now (Zeke will be 9 in April, Larry 11 (WOOT!) in February).

[inugrey]

We pulled the trigger and went with Healthy Paws for Rally Roo. Thanks for the stories.

[gracegirl]

We pulled the trigger and went with Healthy Paws for Rally Roo. Thanks for the stories.

Good choice! I was just going to post a bill for you to see how wonderful they are but I dont need to.

 

Jackson had surgery to remove a cancerous lump. The surgery bill was $4,100. They paid $3,700. We will always have Healthy Paws. And like Jen said, their app is awesome.

[gracegirl]

I got even more curious about numbers so I added up how much weve paid healthy paws since insuring Jackson in 2014. Assuming $75 a month, which is our current rate (its gone up so this total is going to be higher than we have actually paid) we have paid HP $3375. The total we have received in reimbursements is $8600.

[SanTanSnuggles]

I once had VPI and they hardly covered anything. Long story short, Healthy Paws are the group now that seems to have the best reviews. So my younger one started on healthy paws. Not my boy as he had pre-existing conditions by the time I learned of HP.

[Guest LockportGrey]

Does anyone have Trupanion Insurance?

It appears that they reimburse the vet directly.

http://trupanion.com/pet-insurance-comparison/trupanion-vs-healthypaws

[seeh2o]

Does anyone have Trupanion Insurance?

It appears that they reimburse the vet directly.

http://trupanion.com/pet-insurance-comparison/trupanion-vs-healthypaws

My friend does, she was talking about this the other day, it's a great benefit. I believe your vet has to sign up for the service.

 

I hope Healthy Paws adopts it, too, but they'll need to pay faster. They have really slowed down with their reimbursements, it used to take about 10 days. After I signed up for direct deposit it takes 3+ weeks. I think I'm going back to receiving a check.

[NeylasMom]

3 weeks from claim being completed to the money being deposited or 3 weeks for the whole process? I can't imagine, especially if its the latter that the DD is slowing things down. My claims are being processed MUCH more slowly lately. Like VPI slow.

 

I've been waiting for DD though. Didn't realize it was finally available so I will sign up.

 

Regarding Trupanion, I can't see my vet ever participating with that. Instead of receiving everything up front, they'd receive none up front, then some from the insurance, then the rest from you at some later point, which would require billing. They would likely lose money over time with non paying clients.

[seeh2o]

3 weeks from claim being completed to the money being deposited or 3 weeks for the whole process? I can't imagine, especially if its the latter that the DD is slowing things down. My claims are being processed MUCH more slowly lately. Like VPI slow.

 

I've been waiting for DD though. Didn't realize it was finally available so I will sign up.

 

Regarding Trupanion, I can't see my vet ever participating with that. Instead of receiving everything up front, they'd receive none up front, then some from the insurance, then the rest from you at some later point, which would require billing. They would likely lose money over time with non paying clients.

 

I submitted Bowie's last claim the same day as her appointment, 1.5.18, I received a notification from them that they received it an it was in process...today is 1.21.18, nothing from them since then. No bueno. It's not like what I submitted was out of the ordinary, it was for her restaging, so a physical exam, blood work and xrays. Pretty straightforward stuff. I noticed they were slowing down in the summer, I asked them about it and was told (as I think you posted around that time) that there were a lot of claims over the summer. Well, we're about as far from summer as we could be right now.

 

I just sent them an email asking if there is a problem. We shall see...

 

As for the Trupanion, I believe they collect the owner's portion (office visit) at the time of service. I'll ask my friend how it works and post her answer.

Edited January 21, 2018 by seeh2o

[Rickiesmom]

I've had Trupanion for years and while the premiums seem a bit on the high side, they have always come through without a problem, even for very large costs. My vet submits claims for me via fax, but on my last visit told me that they were going to start the service whereby Trupanion reimburses them and I only pay the difference, so hopefully that will be used next time. My guess is that the vet is reimbursed via electronic funds transfer pretty promptly. That said, this approach may have limits - for example if you had a large claim, Trupanion might want to see the vet records first.

 

All that said, I just had both my hounds in for smallish issues, and while the claims were submitted via fax so I paid my vet the full amount, they were processed the same day. Again, these were in the hundreds, not thousands of dollars - I am sure there are thresholds for the amount of information / documentation that is required to process a claim, and it's hard to argue with that.

 

Trupanion will also allow a proposed treatment plan to be submitted in advance, so they can tell you what portion they will cover.

 

Healthy Paws is not in Canada, so no experience there.

[seeh2o]

Interesting, after sent them an inquiry as to why it was taking so long to process my claim (today, about 2 hours ago) they sent me an email telling me it was approved. I didn't know they worked on Sundays. Coincidence?

[NeylasMom]

Probably not a coincidence. What you're describing is exactly what I've been experiencing lately. I don't really mind that much because I don't live paycheck to paycheck, but it does make it a bit harder for me to keep track since I have a lot of claims with all if Violet's PT.

[seeh2o]

Bowie's restaging bills are usually close to $500, that's a chunk of change for me to be waiting on.