I just finished reading the March issue of Veterinary Forum Magazine. Tucked in the corner of page 24 was an interesting statistic. Pets Best Insurance reviewed its reimbursements over $500 and found that:
- 54% are for regular veterinary care
- 35% are for specialist care
- 11% are for emergency clinic care
What this means is that almost half of significant veterinary bills occurs outside your regular veterinarian's office. Many clients don't even think about having to visit anyone but their regular veterinarian, but odds are at some point you will have to take your pet to an after-hours emergency hospital. Since the best techniques for handling some problems require greater expertise or more advanced technology than your regular veterinarian may have, at some point you will also likely be referred to a specialist. For example, some invasive tumors are best managed by having a CT scan or MRI done in order to plan the surgical procedure and insure that all the tumor is removed. Some complex medical problems are best handled by internist who see and manage these problems much more frequently than your regular veterinarian, and many times the pet should have 24 hour (around the clock) monitoring and treatment to have the best chance for a successful outcome.
It used to be that veterinary schools were the only alternative when such procedures needed to be done and clients had to drive hours to the nearest school. Now, most major cities have one or more specialty hospitals. Here is Memphis, we are fortunate to have several board-certified surgeons, internists, an opthamologist, a dermatologist, an oncologist, and a physical therapist. Because they have more advanced expertise and have access to more advanced technology, their fees are higher. Most major cities also have one or more emergency hospitals where pet owners can take their pets when their regular veterinarian is closed during evenings, weekends, and holidays. The emergency hospital's fees are also likely to be higher than your regular veterinarian's fees.
This should at least make you think about the benefits of having pet health insurance for your pet when you are faced with having to visit a specialty hospital or an emergency hospital and a significant veterinary bill.
One of the good things about pet health insurance is that pet owners who have insurance can go to any veterinarian, hospital, specialist and be reimbursed for covered medical expenses. They aren't limited to doctors or hospitals in a "network." This is an important reason that veterinarians and pet owners alike should avoid joining networks typical of the HMOs, PPOs, etc. that is typical of the "managed care" model that plague most human healthcare professions.
