Vet Bills

[cgs]

We're considering pet insurance and would probably get a high deductible plan. But having a small 10-yr-old healthy dog, my husband is skeptical. I've read the pet insurance threads and I see people say they're grateful for their insurance when they had big bills, but they don't always say what the medical issue was.

 

What I'd really like to know is how much your vet bills were and what the problem was. Why did your dog need the ER or an xray or surgery and how much did it cost? I'm trying to get an idea of things that might typically happen to a greyhound. I'm not looking for advice on Healthy Paws vs something else (though I'm sure people will talk about that, lol). I can read through other threads on that again. Whether you have insurance or not, I'm really looking to try to get a feel for what goes wrong and how much it costs. Feel free to chime in also if your dog has never had anything other than well checks at the vet.

[XTRAWLD]

Both my boys were relatively healthy until they hit about 10 years old and then wham, that's when the big vet bills start kicking in. Routine annual visits that can cost about $400 or so with shots. Ultrasound costs can vary, I've heard people getting them between $150-$700 and this is typically necessary to determine organ health. Xrays also vary, $150-$800 depending on the amount of shots necessary for what they are trying to see, for me xrays were typically to investigate lameness in the limbs, also required for dentals. MRI's for neurological/disc issues well that's getting up there, again vary, but at least $1K. Then of course there's chemotherapy..... I estimated the amount spent on trying to fight cancer would have been equal to the amount of payments I would have made to pet insurance for the 8 years of owning my boy. Monthly meds trying to maintain quality of life can also get expensive depending on what is being used. Hard to estimate because you never know what your hound might develop. There's also random things that pop up: a funny bump, an eye full of pus, corns, diarrhea that won't go away, random vomiting that needs investigation. That's just some of the things I've encountered. There's accidental happy tail (tail caught in a door), broken bones, broken nails, what can happen is kind of endless.....

[KF_in_Georgia]

I have Healthy Paws. My 4-year-old boy, Q, broke an upper canine tooth in his crate--broke the tooth up at the root. And he did it on a Saturday morning, while I was at a meet and greet; by the time I found it, my regular vet was closed. I have CareCredit, so I could put the initial bills on that card and pay them off as soon as I got reimbursed by Healthy Paws.

 

 

Healthy Paws doesn't cover the doctor's exam, which I think is silly. The ER bill was $850.43: Emergency fee, office visit, hydromorphone injection, hazardous material disposal fee, propofol IV induction, IV catheter (short term), anesthesia (minor procedure--$216.17), tooth extraction ($164.43), amoxiclav 375mb tabs ($108.08), and tramadol 60 mg tablets.

Feeling sorry for himself the next morning...

 

The ER recommended dental xrays to ensure they'd gotten all the broken bits of tooth. Not many vets do dental xrays, but SEGA's local vet was willing to anesthetize Q for xrays. $208.90. All the tooth bits were out.

The x-rays were on Wednesday, and we went to our regular vet on Monday. It was time for Q's wellness exam, so we did a fecal and a senior wellness screen, plus the office visit: $217.28. At that time, I was thinking Healthy Paws would pick up the office visit fee ($58.50), but they didn't. They did pay the wellness screen and fecal, which surprised me.

I submitted bills online to Healthy Paws on 9/25. Healthy Paws emailed a confirmation when they got them. On 10/12, they emailed info on what they were going to cover. After the $250 deductible, reimbursement at 80%, they paid $383.14, $167.12, and $110.17 for the three bills: $660.43 total. I had opted for direct deposit, and the money was in my checking account within the week. (I had been paying Healthy Paws $38.40/month for the previous 18 months, so I had paid $691.20 for insurance. So far, this is our only claim with Healthy Paws. I also have my nearly-10-year-old girl insured with them.)

We were very lucky. The tooth didn't cause any sinus damage, and Q didn't have any complications with the meds or with excessive bleeding. We did two weeks of soft food, and the only lasting problems are that he squirts water out of the gap in his mouth every time he drinks, and his tongue falls out that side of his mouth when he sleeps.

[Neighsayer]

I recently paid $6000 for surgery, hospitalization and treatment when my mixed breed got into a squabble with two of my Greyhounds.

I paid around $4000 last year when my old gal had an intestinal obstruction and required surgery and a hospital stay. I had one who developed an allergic reaction to her internal sutures after her spay. She almost bled out, and required transfusions, surgery, and a hospital stay. My adoption group paid the $3000 plus bill for that one, because they had just paid for her spay and this was a complication resulting from that. I have had an MRI and spinal tap on a dog with a mystery condition that they thought could be meningitis. Another MRI on a dog who probably had a brain tumor. Don’t remember the costs, but they were up there. I don’t have insurance because I adopt seniors and returns, and usually have five dogs at a time. I have had three with osteo, but did not do expensive treatments for them. Happy tail with several vet visits, then amputation also added up. Meds also add up when you have two dogs with kidney disease and one with high blood pressure. You could have several healthy dogs that never require more than routine vet care, or one with very expensive medical needs. No way to predict.

[DocsDoctor]

I'm in the UK but suspect many of the same issues apply.

 

My old greyhound, Doc, was insured from adoption (at the age of four) until he turned ten - at that point the policy premiums rocketed, because of his age, and I gave it up feeling it would be better to pay for any future treatments out of savings instead. He was a pretty healthy dog and the one major claim I had made was for cutting out a corneal ulcer, developed after he scratched his eye on a bush. He also had a "borderline malignant" lump removed from inside a toe. Overall I had probably paid more in premiums than I got back in claims. After that he did develop some "old dog" health issues - arthritis in general, more particular problems with a couple of compressed vertebral discs and nerve damage in the lumbar region. He wouldn't have been a candidate for surgery at this point and instead we managed his problems with supplements, painkillers, careful exercise, and regular visits from a vet physio. He lived happily on to the grand old age of thirteen and a half.

 

Ken, my current dog, I acquired three years ago. Initially I took out for insurance for him with Petplan - usually regarded as the gold standard for UK pet insurers. The first year that more or less paid for itself, sorting out a long-established bladder infection and also a persistent limp (turned out to be caused by a small deep corn). However I ended up cancelling the policy in the second year after he was diagnosed with a long-term condition (muco-cutaneous lupus, causing bleeding nail beds). They wouldn't cover that going forward and it was where his healthcare costs were coming from, so.... That let me in for some rather expensive vet bills initially (dermatologist consults, course of immune suppressants) but he is much better now and in the longterm needs only some inexpensive vitamin supplements and (for the time being only I hope) antibiotics.

 

I am pretty sceptical about pet insurers, these days. They are businesses, not charities, and are looking to cover their costs over the lifetime of the dog/policy. Maybe worthwhile if you have a young accident-prone dog, but if you have savings and/or you have an older dog or one with a chronic condition otherwise I would not bother.

[XTRAWLD]

I think you can also select the coverage you want with different companies. You can pay a larger premium to include annual visits, and some even for dentals. I personally just use a savings account, provided you are diligent with saving and using that account solely for dog medical expenses. I know that I can dip into it as needed without worrying about a claim that might not be covered. Not worth the stress imo.

[JohnF]

Insurance (Pet Plan - Gold) has just about covered the costs so far but not dentals (only a cracked tooth is eligible). I'd consider my Peggy to be quite an accident-prone dog, and we have had knee and tail surgery, and a serious gastro event involving an e-vet covered.

 

If you can guarantee you won't ever dip into your dog's ring fenced vet money (thousands) for non-vet reasons, then you're probably one of the lucky ones who don't need pet insurance.

[philospher77]

At one point, I did a cost analysis of the insurance I have. I'd point you to it, but can't find it right now. However, what I realized was that there are two kinds of vet costs: really high, unusual things, and then low-cost, easy to overlook things. Examples of the first type: surgery for slipping patellas (app. 3k per patella), emergency treatment when your dog has eaten an unknown substance (1k, after-hours emergency vet), dealing with cancer (that was somewhere in the 13-19K range, I believe, and what got me to get insurance on my other dogs). Then there are the little costs that add up over time: maintenance medicines for on-going issues (Pixie's are running me around $150/month, for the rest of her life, and she is a 10-pound dog), physical therapy ($600 for 10 sessions), that sort of thing. Those are very easy to overlook, because they are small amounts. I was shocked to realize how much I'd spent on vet bills for my dogs!

[Remolacha]

I think you can also select the coverage you want with different companies. You can pay a larger premium to include annual visits, and some even for dentals. I personally just use a savings account, provided you are diligent with saving and using that account solely for dog medical expenses. I know that I can dip into it as needed without worrying about a claim that might not be covered. Not worth the stress imo.

This is what I do. I had a negative experience with VPI years ago and went the savings account route. There are a lot more options now, and I have heard many good things about some of them. However, I also adopt seniors and bounces, and the premiums would be higher right off the bat, if the insurance was even available.

[claudiav]

i've spent thousands upon thousands... Between allergies, sensitive tummies, old age, arthritis, tooth extractions, tail amputations, torn Achilles heel surgery at specialty center, heart monitoring, kidney failure, cancer, emergency surgery for abdominal obstruction, heartworm treatments, kennel cough, pannus, etc... ultrasounds, diagnostic tests, xrays, dentals, ER visits/surgeries... if i didn't have insurance I would not be able to take proper care of my pets... then i wouldn't be a responsible owner... it's absolutely necessary IMO... I spent over $22K on one dog alone, in less than one year... and i have had 6 dogs and 1 cat, so well over $50K in all... and have been reimbursed on a good chunk of it... for the premium, it's absolutely worth it to know you can have peace of mind when your dog needs veterinary care...

[greysmom]

Costs are going to vary wildly depending on where you are located. Larger, metro areas on the East coast are much more expensive than mid west or west coast costs. So when you are looking at these prices, keep that in mind.

 

We do not have pet insurance. I deposit money every month in a separate savings account for medical treatment of our animals.

 

By far the most expensive was treating one of ours for osteo. When it was all over and done with, I added up all the bills - e-vet and hospitalization for about a week (following him breaking his leg in the yard running late on a Friday afternoon), amputation surgery and two follow up surgeries to clean up infections (very common), lab work before every chemo, chemo administration and monitoriing by an oncologist, pills and supplements, weekly massage therapy, and lots of little things I'm forgetting - the total was around $15,000. We fortunately had inherited a large bunch of money just when we needed it. Otherwise this would have all gone on credit cards.

 

But of our nine greyhounds, all of them have ended up with something serious happening requiring either surgery or e-vet visits. Here's a rundown of what I remember from the last almost 20 years of owning greyhounds:

>Meds for seizure disorder - @ $100/mo (probably more now as drugs are way more expensive)

>toe amp - @ $400-500 for amp surgery and f/u

>happy tail - @ $100 for treatment and bandaging supplies add another $300 for tail amp surgery

>anxiety meds - @ $50-75/mo depending on the drug used (also might be much more now)

>regular vet visit for various skin tears and play bites - @ $300 for minor repair surgery and f/u (triple that for e vet visit)

>specialty hospitilization for seizure and heart attack - admitted through e vet - @ $300/day

>e vet for stroke, loss of mobility - @ $800, plus $200 for euthanasia

>anaphalactic reaction to antibiotic following surgery - regular vet @ $400, e vet for 2 days @ $1100

>non emergency, regular annual vet visit - @ $100 per visit, shots add @20 each, can include a corn hulling no charge

>acupuncture for anxiety and IBS - $100 per visit once a month

>regular vet, dental, no extractions - @ $400-500, add @ $100 per tooth for extractions

>regular vet, xrays to check a limp - @ $50 per film

>in-home euthanasia, with individual cremation - @ $150 depending on size of animal, @ $200 for euth at e vet

[XTRAWLD]

Ah yes, I forgot about allergies. Not only medication to try to treat, but various food trials to limit the ingredient that might be causing the allergy. $70 for high quality kibble ever month until you find one that works, blood or skin testing to determine the allergen, $500. Indeed, no wonder I forgot those days.....

[cgs]

Costs are going to vary wildly depending on where you are located. Larger, metro areas on the East coast are much more expensive than mid west or west coast costs. So when you are looking at these prices, keep that in mind.

 

We do not have pet insurance. I deposit money every month in a separate savings account for medical treatment of our animals.

 

By far the most expensive was treating one of ours for osteo. When it was all over and done with, I added up all the bills - e-vet and hospitalization for about a week (following him breaking his leg in the yard running late on a Friday afternoon), amputation surgery and two follow up surgeries to clean up infections (very common), lab work before every chemo, chemo administration and monitoriing by an oncologist, pills and supplements, weekly massage therapy, and lots of little things I'm forgetting - the total was around $15,000. We fortunately had inherited a large bunch of money just when we needed it. Otherwise this would have all gone on credit cards.

 

But of our nine greyhounds, all of them have ended up with something serious happening requiring either surgery or e-vet visits. Here's a rundown of what I remember from the last almost 20 years of owning greyhounds:

>Meds for seizure disorder - @ $100/mo (probably more now as drugs are way more expensive)

>toe amp - @ $400-500 for amp surgery and f/u

>happy tail - @ $100 for treatment and bandaging supplies add another $300 for tail amp surgery

>anxiety meds - @ $50-75/mo depending on the drug used (also might be much more now)

>regular vet visit for various skin tears and play bites - @ $300 for minor repair surgery and f/u (triple that for e vet visit)

>specialty hospitilization for seizure and heart attack - admitted through e vet - @ $300/day

>e vet for stroke, loss of mobility - @ $800, plus $200 for euthanasia

>anaphalactic reaction to antibiotic following surgery - regular vet @ $400, e vet for 2 days @ $1100

>non emergency, regular annual vet visit - @ $100 per visit, shots add @20 each, can include a corn hulling no charge

>acupuncture for anxiety and IBS - $100 per visit once a month

>regular vet, dental, no extractions - @ $400-500, add @ $100 per tooth for extractions

>regular vet, xrays to check a limp - @ $50 per film

>in-home euthanasia, with individual cremation - @ $150 depending on size of animal, @ $200 for euth at e vet

 

This list is very helpful because I'm looking at getting $1000 deductible and there are only one or two things on that list that make it to $1000. So if only one of those things happened in a year, I'd never use the insurance. For $100/mo medication, it would only reimburse for the last two months. So this pretty long list really gives me something to think about. It seems like cancer is the really big thing. On the other hand, from what I'm hearing, the price goes up to where it's not really worth it once they turn 10, so we're looking at 6 years of insurance at around $250/year (which I'm sure would go up over time), so somewhere in the $2000 range total for some peace of mind.

[cleptogrey]

do the math, for a 10 year old the price per month is pretty high.

think about how far you will go- ie cancer- pain management vs. chemo/amputation

add in the deductibles, get prices from your vet. search for an empty jar?

 

the two times i had emergency treatment for annie the total was $1600. once when she was 7 and then her demise at age 10.

 

for healthy paws i just did annie, age 10, $64 per month. 60% reimbursable, $750 deductible. so, i had her for 8 years, and figured an average of $64 per month, many plans are higher than the healthy paws, that equals $6,144 and i paid 40% of the bills and $750 a year deductible. mmmm....it all depends upon the individual and how far you will go to keep your dog alive. i always look at quality of life. but that's me.

 

also, check out what the insurance company considers payable towards each claim. for 1 year i had accident insurance for felix when he was a crazy adolescent. i never made the $100 deducible since his staples and care for the one accident that year qualified for payment under the $100. it was the best spent $111 (coverage for the entire year) i swear it warded off the accidents!

Edited May 18, 2018 by cleptogrey

[cgs]

Yes, I am doing the math. I'm looking at much cheaper plans--$1000 deductible and about $22/month. With $1000 deductible, it really wouldn't be used for most accidents and injuries, but would be for something serious like cancer. But I'm also thinking cancer is less likely in a younger dog, and the insurance gets a lot more expensive once they're 10.

 

Insurance is never "worth it" if things go well. But you're glad to have it when things go wrong. I'm just trying to figure out what kinds of things most often go wrong, how much they cost, and as you said, how much we would treat.

[Remolacha]

Another thing to consider, can you handle an unexpected large medical bill, or would it be financially easier for you to pay a relatively small amount each month in insurance premiums? I try not to add up what I pay for treating my animals, I really don’t want to know but, when one of my dogs had surgery for possible cancer (not osteo) with complications I did add things up to see if I was going to hit the limit on my credit card. I spent about $8,000 just on the surgery and complications, but for me it was easier financially to pay for it on my credit card and then pay that off on my own schedule.

[cgs]

I hear ya. I don't add up how much we spend on our two horses. (Not medically, just everything--lessons, tack, shows, boarding, vet, farrier, etc.) We could handle an emergency, but I wouldn't be happy about it. We have the horses insured with $1000 deductible.

[Batmom]

After our disaster (getting to that) two years ago, I figured out that I'd still come out ahead with a do-it-yourself "oh spit" fund, but it was a near thing.

 

Disaster = almost 8yo previously healthy dog with sudden onset life threatening ventricular tachycardia. Initial incident through first 3 months of additional testing and rechecks was @ $5-$6K. We go back every @ 6 months for rechecks, @ $700. In between there's 1-2 runs to the local vet for an electrocardiogram, $40-$150 depending on whether it's sent to the cardiologist for eval. Shortly after the initial incident she fractured a tooth; because of the cardiac issue we had to have that taken care of at the specialty hospital, @ $800 (would've been @ $200 at the regular vet). I guess I've let the university do some tests etc. along the way that I could have declined but what can I say, in for a penny, in for a pound ....

 

Everything else, including some cancer cases, we've been much better off funding things ourselves.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I've had ailments on dogs that weren't insured or were badly insured.

 

• Oreo: Broke her leg. Probably osteo, although it didn't show on the xrays. We did orthopedic surgery, but lost her to a blood clot. About $800, uninsured. (I paid out about $800; the surgeon waived his fee.)
• Sam: Just old-age stuff, and not particularly expensive, uninsured.
• Jacey: $4,500 on one weekend (immune system breakdown). I had terrible VPI insurance that reimbursed only $1,000, and I wound up with serious debt. And she died.
• Tigger: Osteosarcoma. Xrays, er visit, euthanasia. About $800 in one week, uninsured.
• Silver: Hemangiosarcoma. Xrays, ultrasound, lots of lab work, euthanasia. About $1000 in her last month, uninsured.

Three of these dogs were only 8 when I lost them, so we never got to the point of deciding whether a 10-year-old should be insured.

[Rickiesmom]

I insured a girl at 8, in spite of a kidney condition and a few benign lumps and bumps removed.

 

8 months later she was diagnosed with osteo, and was a good candidate for amputation and chemo. She came through those with flying colors, but along the way developed a very acute back problem we thought might be caused by a met. Emerg did CT scan to figure out where the problem was, and a localized MRI. Radiologist said the MRI was not good enough to diagnose, so she went to another facility for a better MRI. Long story short, with all her expenses from diagnosis to end of treatment, her costs were about $25K (including tax, which is 13% here) of which we paid $5K.

 

My current two have insurance. One is likely making money for the company as she has had only very minor issues, which is fine because the whole idea is a pool, with some net contributors, and some net withdrawers. My other one is probably net contributing on at this point, but he has had some significant health issues (uveitis, IMHA) along the way that have been covered so not sure. I've never done the math, because I don't care.

 

The reason I have insurance is because I don't want to have to take cost into account when considering treatment options for my dogs. I expect I will "win" on some and "lose" on others, and that is fine with me.

 

I've paid house and car insurance for decades, with no claims for the house and two for the car, in both cases not my fault (rear-ended). Also pay for private insurance for myself, no claims to date. And I am happy in all cases to be on the losing end, because it means being problem free. But the flip side is when something happens, even if it's big, I am covered, and that peace of mind is what I pay for.

 

This approach may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

[charbess]

I recently paid $6000 for surgery, hospitalization and treatment when my mixed breed got into a squabble with two of my Greyhounds.

I paid around $4000 last year when my old gal had an intestinal obstruction and required surgery and a hospital stay. I had one who developed an allergic reaction to her internal sutures after her spay. She almost bled out, and required transfusions, surgery, and a hospital stay. My adoption group paid the $3000 plus bill for that one, because they had just paid for her spay and this was a complication resulting from that. I have had an MRI and spinal tap on a dog with a mystery condition that they thought could be meningitis. Another MRI on a dog who probably had a brain tumor. Don’t remember the costs, but they were up there. I don’t have insurance because I adopt seniors and returns, and usually have five dogs at a time. I have had three with osteo, but did not do expensive treatments for them. Happy tail with several vet visits, then amputation also added up. Meds also add up when you have two dogs with kidney disease and one with high blood pressure. You could have several healthy dogs that never require more than routine vet care, or one with very expensive medical needs. No way to predict.

You mention 3 with osteo but you did not do expensive treatment for the. Surmising you euthanized upon diagnosis?

[NeylasMom]

You've already gotten a lot of good input so I will just add that for my first two, both got osteo and costs were quite high as you'd expect. The main benefit in their cases was that cost didn't have to be a factor in deciding treatment.

 

But with Violet now, she has a chronic disc issue and we spend upwards of $450 a month on PT, acupuncture, meds, and supplements alone. She's also had multiple ultrasounds at around $500 a pop and multiple consults with Ortho and neuro vets at $150+ a consult, though our plan with HP doesn't cover those.

 

Point being, a chronic issue, even a relatively mild one can also be quite costly over time. And if you get a policy with an annual deductible, once you've met it even those smaller expenses that wouldn't have been worth the insurance alone get covered.

 

But again, I always come back to not wanting cost to be a factor in making treatment decisions and I don't want to eat into my emergency savings for an illness.

 

You mention 3 with osteo but you did not do expensive treatment for the. Surmising you euthanized upon diagnosis?

Palliative care with pain meds is also typically not expensive.

 

Diagnostics can be, as can other palliative options like radiation and IV bisphosphonates, but if you get a diagnosis from a simple x-ray and just do pain meds it doesn't have to be expensive.

Edited March 3, 2019 by NeylasMom

[Neighsayer]

You mention 3 with osteo but you did not do expensive treatment for the. Surmising you euthanized upon diagnosis?

My first osteo dog had cancer everywhere, and I let him go at diagnosis. The other two I took home on pain meds, but could not control the pain after a week.

[charbess]

My first osteo dog had cancer everywhere, and I let him go at diagnosis. The other two I took home on pain meds, but could not control the pain after a week.

OMG...only a week...I should be satisfied with my decision to euthanize her immediately but I still feel like utter crap.

[macoduck]

Mazy was the only dog we had insurance on. We used Healthy Paws and the price gradually kept rising. Adding up vet visit costs vs the monthly premium, it didn't add up for us to continue with the insurance. Instead we set aside money in a dog savings account.

 

And then something went horribly wrong. My vet couldn't diagnose her but recognized that this was headed to a critical zone. She sent us to NC State vet hospital where Mazy spent one week.

Pancreatitis was finally diagnosed via ultrasound even though the lab results didn't corrolate with it.

And then something else happened. Screaming with neck pain or if her head was touched. MRI and spinal tap showed nothing. IV Fentanyl helped somewhat.

She was sent home with 10 pills to take multiple times a day. On day 5 she refused pills hidden in tasty stuff, so when I tilted her head slightly to pop a pill down she screamed.

We decided that was it. On New Year's day morning our vet met us at his office to let her go. He said whatever it was it was systemic. Reading over the NCS reports he could make no sense of it either.

NC State cost us $8000 and about $350 at my vet before that.

Because Mazy was only 7 we felt we had to give her a chance. Luckily we'd had money set aside for vet care, though we never knew things could get this bad.

It would have been easier to bear if she'd recovered, or if we could have learned what "it" was that took her from us.

 

Agreeing with the others - get insurance or regularly set money aside for this kind of emergency.