One of Most Important Issues: Nobody Is Talking About It

[protectionist]

Fewer things are more important to those of us who are PET OWNERS, than the health and life or death of our pets. No matter whether we have a dog or cat or parrot or horse or whatever we have, most of us consider our pets to be part of the family. That being said, it is amazing that so little notoriety is given to the huge issue of pet insurance, and our capability to keep our pets ALIVE.

What is needed to do that, for those of us who are not quite wealthy, at some point in time, is pet insurance. The problem is that unlike human doctors and hospitals, who simply take a plastic card from you, check your insurance, and give you your care (and the doctor/hospital gets reimbursed later), veterinarians require immediate payment. You must pay for your pets care (surgeries can costs many thousands of $$$), UP FRONT, or the surgery doesn't get done, and your pet dies.

Sounds crazy. Yes, that's because it is crazy. And it is so ingrained this way, that everyone in the veterinarian BUSINESS seems to take it very nonchalantly, as normal procedure. I see it as INSANE procedure, and I call upon every pet owner to be up in arms over this, and contact your US congressmen, senators, and state legislators to do something about it. I hate to reduce it to those terms, but I'm afraid that's right where it's at, folks.

The veterinarians have a strong lobbying group working for them, but they are nowhere near as strong as the votes of millions of pet owners, who care to keep their pets alive and well. That lobbying group is the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Assn). They contribute money to members of both the US House & Senate, and a 2014 list of recipients is included in the link at the bottom of this page. If your legislator(s) is on this list, you should call them and demand that they stop taking money from the AVMA, and sponsor legislation to require veterinarians to simply treat your pet's care the same way your human doctor treats your care.

Lastly, I will say that, as a former business owner, I am probably just as much against the govt interfering in the affairs of private business as anybody else, but this is much more than just that. This is veterinarians, and their AVMA goons interfering in the lives of our pets, and endangering them, by putting up needless barriers to their critical medical care when they need it. The greatest hospitals and surgeons of humans in the world, accept the policy of reimbursement TO THEM from insurance companies. If they can do that, so can veterinarians.

https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pac...132&cycle=2014

 

[protectionist]

According to the Humane Society of the US, there are 164 million pets (mostly cats & dogs) in America. Unfortunately, millions are dying every year, at young ages, in pet hospitals, simply because pet owners lack the thousands of $$ to pay out of their own pockets for surgeries, with or without having pet insurance.

These pets are young and in great health except for one ailment which could be remedied by surgery. Yet they are being put down, just because of a dumb way that pet insurance is handled.

 

[Dekster]

Not sure I really understand the OP's position. Pet insurance is available and while it is not true in some areas, in my area pet surgeries are affordable. A couple times a year the local shelter hands out vouchers to assist people with the cost of neutering and they have a fund that assist people who adopt older and special needs pets with medical costs for them. Despite all that, they have to put down thousand of animals a yea rbecause nobody will adopt them.

 

[Gracie]

Having a caring vet helps. I don't have thousands of dollars to help my pets, but I have paid it in payments. No insurance, and it CAN be expensive because I checked it out at their request. I declined because of the relationship I have with my vet. They would never let my pets or their clients die due to lack of funds.

 

[waltky]

possum thinks ya shouldn't insure a cat...

... `cause right when ya think dey's yer buddy...

... dey'll smack ya onna nose.

 

[protectionist]

Having a caring vet helps. I don't have thousands of dollars to help my pets, but I have paid it in payments. No insurance, and it CAN be expensive because I checked it out at their request. I declined because of the relationship I have with my vet. They would never let my pets or their clients die due to lack of funds.

You have a very special vet, and rather rare as well. I love to hear stuff like that. Wish there was more of it.