I'm in Las Vegas at the Western Veterinary Conference and I heard a most interesting story today about a claim we recently paid. It all started out with a seemingly routine surgery. A middle aged dog in Michigan had an ovariohysterectomy (spay) for treatment of a chronic vaginal discharge she developed after her last heat period. So far so good.
At the end of the day following her surgery she was experiencing post operative bleeding. With an older dog, spaying can be a more complicated procedure but it's still fairly routine. The surgeon assumed that the bleeding was due to the surgery and he referred the client to the
Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine emergency facility.
There, surgeons reopened her abdomen to find the source of the bleeding and to repair the damage. With older dogs the blood supply to the uterus is more extensive and even a small blood vessel can lead to significant blood loss, over time. The surgeons at MSU found nothing out of the ordinary. They assumed that the problem was due to a blood clotting problem, or coagulapathy, as opposed to a surgical complication.
Eventually this led to a very serious complication know as
disseminated intravascular coagulation or DIC.
This condition is often fatal and a true medical emergency. In essence, dogs affected with DIC use up all the various components of the normal clotting process and can undergo severe blood loss. Good thing she was in the intensive care unit of a major veterinary teaching hospital.
She spent ten days in intensive care receiving several blood transfusions and around the clock care. The good news is that she pulled through, has fully recovered and is back home with her family. The bad news is that her total bill was in excess of $18,000. That's right 18 grand!
The good news is that her family had her covered with a
PurinaCare policy and after the deductible and co-pay
we reimbursed them over $14,000. That was quite a relief and we were happy to be able to do it.
The good people at MSU were also very impressed, so much so that they have invited us up to speak to a big group of primary care veterinary clinics served by MSU. Our own Dr Kent Kruse will be going up soon to talk about how insurance can help dog and cat owners provide the best available care in an emergency like this.
And that's what Pet Health Insurance is all about.