Worms in Dogs: Prevent, Diagnose, and Treat Different Types of Worms
Does Pet Insurance Cover Medication?
How Does Medication Coverage Work?As with most pet insurance coverage, you pay for pet prescriptions out of pocket, file a claim with your insurance company, and receive reimbursement for some or all of the costs. Your reimbursement depends on your chosen rate, co-pay and whether you've met your deductible. Accident-only plans only cover medications related to your pet's accidents. Accident-and-illness plans cover medications prescribed for covered health conditions.
Keep in mind that there's a difference between preventive medication and medication prescribed to treat an accident or illness. Routine medication — such as heartworm prevention, flea and tick medication and vaccinations — isn't typically covered unless you purchase a wellness care add-on for your plan. Medication is also excluded if it's for non-covered procedures such as spaying, neutering, microchipping or cosmetic procedures.
No provider covers medication for preexisting conditions. A condition is preexisting if your pet shows signs or symptoms before enrollment or before the policy's waiting period ends, even if it never received treatment. Waiting periods are typically two to 15 days for accidents and 14 to 30 days for illnesses. They're usually much longer for orthopedic conditions such as hip dysplasia.
Nearly all pet insurance providers offer some prescription medication coverage. These are our top-recommended companies' policies for medication.
Spot Medication CoverageSpot Pet Insurance offers a low-cost accident-only plan, a more comprehensive accident-and-illness plan, and two wellness add-ons. All policies cover medications to treat covered conditions, provided the medication is FDA-approved and prescribed by a licensed veterinarian. Experimental treatments and over-the-counter medications aren't covered.
Unlike some other companies, Spot covers prescription food and supplements as long as they're prescribed to treat a covered condition and not for general health or maintenance. The company's Platinum preventive care add-on also offers $25 per year for flea and heartworm prevention, checkups and other routine vet visits.
Trupanion Medication CoverageTrupanion has a single plan covering accidents and illnesses, including medications prescribed for either. Prescription food is covered at 50% for up to two months. Dietary supplements qualify for coverage if they're prescribed to treat a covered condition and not for general health. Trupanion doesn't offer wellness coverage, but its Recovery and Complementary Care add-on covers homeopathic and herbal remedies plus treatments such as acupuncture.
Fetch Pet Medication CoverageFetch by Dodo offers a single plan for accidents and illnesses but no wellness coverage. Its plan covers all medication prescribed for covered conditions, including chronic conditions and congenital conditions. Nutritional supplements are covered, but prescription food is not.
Embrace Medication CoverageEmbrace Pet Insurance's single plan covers accidents and illnesses, including medication and homeopathic remedies prescribed to treat them. Embrace won't cover flea, tick or heartworm prevention, nutritional supplements or prescription food unless you purchase its Wellness Rewards for Routine Care add-on.
To learn more: Embrace Pet Insurance review
Healthy Paws Medication CoverageHealthy Paws' accident-and-illness plan covers prescription medication for all covered conditions. It doesn't cover herbal medicine or homeopathy, and there is no wellness add-on for preventive medications.
Figo Medication CoverageFigo offers one accident-and-illness plan with optional "power-up" add-ons, including wellness care. It reimburses all prescription medication for covered conditions. You'll need to add its Wellness Power-up for flea, tick and heartworm prevention coverage. Its Veterinary Exam Fees Power-up covers up to $250 of prescription food annually.
To learn more: Figo Pet Insurance review
Pets Best Medication CoveragePets Best's accident-only and accident-and-illness plans cover all FDA-approved, vet-prescribed medications for covered conditions. Some supplements and over-the-counter drugs are covered.You'll need to add the Essential Wellness or Best Wellness add-on for heartworm medication coverage.
Compare Pet Insurance Companies that Cover Medications*Lemonade may offer shorter waiting periods depending on where you live.
Annual Cost of Medication CoverageWe've gathered sample quotes for a female mixed-breed dog to help you compare plans. Monthly costs vary by your selected coverage and pet's age, breed and location, but this will give you a general idea of pet insurance costs. These quotes exclude wellness add-ons, which typically only cover maintenance medication for parasite prevention.
Company Average Cost Spot $11.73–$131.02 Trupanion $39.12–$156.19 Fetch $27.79–$61.16 Embrace $23.75–$92.28 Healthy Paws $32.94–$43.36 Figo $13.66–$66.83 Pets Best $7.79–$48.38*Each provider's monthly cost is based on quotes we obtained for a 4-year-old, medium-size, mixed-breed dog in Raleigh, N.C.
Which Medications Are Common for Dogs?According to PetMD, these are some of the most commonly prescribed medications for dogs.
Common medications for cats are similar, according to PetCareRx.
Pet insurance covers medication as long as the condition it's prescribed for is covered under your policy. Medication for preexisting conditions isn't covered, and you'll need add-on coverage for preventive medication. Make sure you look at a policy's fine print before purchasing it. We recommend getting quotes from at least three providers before enrolling.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pet Medications Does pet insurance cover preexisting medication?No, medication for preexisting conditions is never covered by pet insurance. This includes any conditions that present during the policy's waiting period, whether or not your pet has received veterinary care for them.
Can I use my insurance for my dog's medications?No. A licensed doctor must prescribe medication to the policyholder; it cannot be given to another person or animal. Additionally, pet parents shouldn't give their pets human medication. Even if the medication is the same, the dosages for humans and animals are so different that you may harm your pet.
Does pet insurance cover medication?Yes, pet insurance almost always covers medication as long as it's FDA-approved and prescribed by a licensed vet to treat a health condition that's covered by your policy.
Methodology: Our System for Ranking the Best Pet Insurance CompaniesWe review each pet insurance company based on factors most important to pet parents like you. To inform our reviews, we surveyed 1,000 dog and cat owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage. Our process includes in-depth industry research about each provider, such as comparing coverage options, gathering quotes online to determine pricing and reading reviews to assess customer service.
We then score each provider on a 100-point scale and divide the final score by 20 to calculate an overall rating out of 5.0 stars. Here are more details about the factors we consider when reviewing pet insurance providers:
We use our rating system to compare each company we review and determine the best pet insurance companies in the industry. To learn more, read our full pet insurance methodology for reviewing and scoring providers.
Dana Getz is a seasoned editor with nearly a decade of experience writing and editing content. She has a background in journalism and worked as a fact-checker for prestigious magazines such as New York and Chicago. She holds a journalism and marketing degree from Northwestern University and has worked across numerous categories within the home services space.
Dog Owners Encouraged To Be Aware Of Heartworm Risk As Temperatures Rise
Risk of heartworm transmission rises as mosquitoes become more activeRising mosquito activity heading into the summer months poses an increased risk of transmitting heartworm disease to dogs, which can lead to damage of the heart, lungs and arteries if left untreated.
Cathy Campbell, DVM, veterinary diagnostician at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, in Bryan-College Station, explains the heartworm life cycle, the best time for testing, and tips for prevention.
What are heartworms and how are they transmitted to dogs?Heartworm disease is caused by the parasitic worm Dirofilaria immitis and is transmitted to animals through mosquitoes, according to the American Heartworm Society. Mature heartworms can live within dogs for up to seven years.
"When a mosquito happens to bite an animal infected with heartworms, it ingests microfilariae, or baby heartworms, through a blood meal," Campbell said.
Those microfilariae morph into larvae inside the mosquito in 10-14 days. That infected mosquito tends to fly around and bite a dog, transmitting the larvae to a new host. Once transmitted, the larvae enter the dog's bloodstream and migrate to the heart.
"Larvae set up housekeeping in the heart and grow into sexual maturity in six to seven months," Campbell said. "Mature worms produce microfilariae, which are released into the bloodstream where they await another mosquito to come and bite the dog, take up a blood sample and continue the cycle."
It takes six to seven months in the heartworm's life cycle before they can be detected on a test. Therefore, most veterinarians recommend testing dogs for heartworms around 6 to 7 months of age.
Testing to detect heartworms in dogsTVMDL offers two different approaches to testing.
The first approach is to detect the baby heartworms produced by adult heartworms in the heart. TVMDL's clinical pathology section can detect microfilariae using either a filter method or through a modified Knott's test.
However, not all heartworm infections produce baby heartworms, so it is best to include an "occult" heartworm test using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA — the second testing approach.
Technicians at TVMDL use the ELISA test to detect antigens associated with pregnant female heartworms. A positive result indicates adult female heartworms are present. This is the primary testing method to detect heartworms.
TVMDL's role in testing for heartworm diseaseMost private veterinary clinics can perform heartworm antigen/ELISA testing in-house, Campbell said. TVMDL primarily conducts confirmatory heartworm testing with a different antigen test after these clinics have gotten an initial positive result.
Confirmatory testing is performed for several reasons. The first is to confirm a dog truly is positive for heartworms prior to undergoing treatment, because the treatment drug used for heartworms can have significant side effects and should not be used unless adult heartworms are present.
The second reason is to document heartworm prevention drug failure. Several manufacturers guarantee coverage of treatment for a dog that has been on their product but developed heartworms despite well-documented testing and dispensing of medication by a licensed veterinarian. There is evidence of a preventative-resistant heartworm variant, primarily in the Mississippi delta region of the U.S.
Lastly, sometimes test results can be unclear. TVMDL can offer a differing testing option to help support or confirm findings.
Although TVMDL serves a confirmatory role for most antigen heartworm tests, the agency typically conducts initial testing for the heartworm antibody test in felines. Due to the infrequency with which this test is needed in private practice on cats, many veterinary clinics do not perform this test in-house and defer testing to TVMDL.
Prevention recommendationsTVMDL encourages veterinarians to educate their clients on the benefits of giving year-round heartworm preventatives to both their canine and feline patients and supports annual testing of canines.
"Texas' mild climate lends toward year-round mosquito activity," Campbell said. "Missing a dose of heartworm preventative, or even administering a dose late, may allow a window of opportunity for mosquitoes to infect pets."
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For additional information on heartworm disease, visit the American Heartworm Society. For more information on testing, visit TVMDL's testing services or call the TVMDL laboratory nearest to you.
PHOTO: Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory officials are reminding pet owners that with rising mosquito populations comes the need for testing and prevention against heartworms. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)
The Heart Of The Matter: Heartworm Disease In Dogs
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