Kim Kavin’s 12-year-old mutt, Blue, was diagnosed with a tumor. An oncologist offered hope, but it would be expensive. Kavin had already $2,000 in three days and the next CT scan was going to be $2,500. Radiation therapy after that would be $9,500. Blue received stereotactic radiation, a gold-standard radiation treatment for humans. Fortunately, Kavin held a pet insurance policy on Blue and the treatment was approved. Her personal account of Blue’s treatment, overview of veterinary trends and insight into pet insurance make this a read well worth your time.
Source: The Washington Post, July 24, 2022. Link. I lucked out living near that clinic. After spending $5,000 on vet bills for a previous dog’s leg injury, I also had bought pet insurance when I adopted Blue II. Over the course of his life, the premiums averaged about $700 a year — less than many human health insurance policies cost for a single month. Maybe I’d never use it, but if Blue needed it, it was there. Now he needed it. When I asked the specialist . . . whether Blue’s pet insurance policy would reimburse me for this type of radiation therapy, the answer was yes. So, I greenlighted the CT scan, checked the available credit on my Mastercard to cover the costs until insurance reimbursement arrived and rushed to get him into the radiation machine faster than his tumor was growing.
INSIGHTS: Kavin provides realistic insight about the real costs of quality veterinary care, the options of care pet insurance affords owners and Blue’s eventual prognosis.