There's no doubt that the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) performs a great deal of wonderful and needed services for animals, and has been doing so for a long time. They are so well known that in their website only the acronym ASPCA is shown, without even detailing what the words mean. Everyone (except maybe some unAmerican immigrants) knows. But now that the ASPCA has decided to undertake a new activity (pet insurance), their sincerity is undergoing a major challenge. That's because, like other pet insurers, the ASPCA requires pet owners to pay the full amount of the care their pets receive UP FRONT, to then be reimbursed by the ASPCA later. Problem with this is, the type of pet care that is critical to keeping pets alive (surgery most often) is quite expensive (thousands of $$), and most pet owners are unable to pay it. This causes the pet owner to not buy the insurance. This then causes the pet to go without needed care, suffer, and die needlessly. Right now thousands of cats, dogs, and other pets are dying all over American because of this crazy policy which all the pet insurers seem to have. This is completely different from human's medical insurance. It is bad not only for the pet owners and their pets, but it's also bad for the pet insurers, who are losing a fortune in missed business (ASPCA says only 1% of pet owners have pet insurance). It's also got to be a huge loss for the veterinarians, in missed business for them too. My vet says only 2 customers of theirs have pet insurance, and they have about 100 customers (most of whom have more than one pet). GO FIGURE!!!!!
I received an email from Pets Best Insurance today, attempting to get me to buy their policy for my cats. In the email, they had a brag list of 6 items under the caption > "How we're different from the rest:" The following is my response letter to them >>> "You're NO DIFFERENT from the rest regarding the MOST IMPORTANT facet about pet insurance. >> Being required to pay the vet UP FRONT. Maybe it never occured to you why 99% of pet owners don't have pet insurance ? Think about it. Or maybe you have (and always have had) so much money, that it doesn't occur to you that someone may not have $5000 on hand to pay up front for a needed surgery. Until you change that policy to concur with how human health insurance is conducted, for the great majority of pet owners in America, you're useless and irrelevant." Truly, Protectionist "PS - please don't come on like you care about pets. If you did, you wouldn't be allowing millions of them to suffer and die needlessly, without the surgeries they need. If this sounds like I'm angry, there's a good reason. I am."
ASPCA is so far removed from any immediate needs, they are almost useless, except for lobbying and taking in donations. The same goes other organizations. Anyone who had, and cares about, pets, should have some old coffee can sitting in the backroom, collecting change and whatever you are spare. It might not cover all needed expenses, but it helps. What's more, find a good vet, one who is realistic, and takes a realistic approach to caring for your animal. Know the difference between life saving surgery and and one that prolongs life without dignity. Don't think in your terms, but in terms that are best for your beloved pet. Many veterinarians are for profit and emotion driven. Many of them will take you for every penny you got. Check out local animal shelters, talk to them, ask which vets volunteer their time. Start there. Talk to the vet, ask why a treatment is needed and about prognosis, not wishful thinking. Many vets talk you into treatments and procedures that are unnecessary. Again, think with your head, not with your heart. Establish a good rapport with the vet ahead of time. Look around the vet's office? What's the overhead? Does he/she have a lot of bells and whistles or only what's needed? Pet rescue, prevention against cruelty, it all starts locally. If you don't have an organization or rescue group in your area, start one. You will be surprised how many people think like you do. Ask around, even put an add in the local paper and meet somewhere. Help organize a spay and release program for cats...
We have fixed 10 cats in our apartment complex recently, brought 3 to a vet, and adopted 5 off the street. Still, as many of us engage in these rescue groups, millions of animal pets (mostly dogs & cats) are dying because of the pet insurance industries strange payment policies, as is the topic of the thread. This calls for political pressure from the major animal rights groups to oppose these policies, not to have them as their own. Letters and phone calls to the ASPCA, the Humane Society. PETA, et al, could help to build this political pressure. As is often the case, big business won't do what's right on their own. They will when they're forced to.
I await a response email from the ASPCA. When I get it, I will post it here. For now, the phone conversation that I had with an ASPCA pet insurance sales manager wasn't too reassuring. I'm beginning to think >> hypocrisy, but I'll give them more opportunity to respond.
If you have a pet and can't afford to pay thousands of dollars up front for surgery for your pet, then you need to be posting in this thread. My cat, Tommy, died last week. This happened before I could even get him an ultrasound, but I really don't know how I could have paid for surgery, if that would have been recommended. And without payment, I couldn't have gotten the necessary surgery. When your pet gets really sick and needs surgery, you'll find yourself up against the insensitivity of the pet insurance industry. Something that should never happen. Why can't pet medical insurance be just like people medical insurance. ? >> The care is done, and THEN the doctors are reimbursed by the insurance.
Another organization that needs to be taken to task on the subject of pet insurance is the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association). Their policy on pet insurance doesn't quite jive with their mission statement and principles they claim. While they say this >> "Reimburse the animal owner,..., for fees previously paid to the veterinarian."........They also say this >> (Under Mission Statement) >> "...to improve animal and human health.."........and this >> (under Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, V. Influences on Judgement) >> "The choice of treatments or animal care should not be influenced by considerations other than the needs of the patient, the welfare of the client,.." Problem is Mr. and Ms. AVMA, that you can't be improving animal health, while you're allowing millions of animal pets to suffer & die, by requiring pet owners to pay up front for surgeries costing thousands of dollars. And vets shouldn't be recommending that animal pets be euthanized (killed), just because the pet owner can't afford to put thousands of dollars up front for a surgery, whether they would be reimbursed by a pet insurance company or not.
