Excerpts from the transcript of an As It Happens podcast:
A couple in Nova Scotia are desperately seeking a match for their five year old Goldendoodle Lucy, who was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. Her life expectancy is between six months and a year with standard treatments like chemotherapy. But Stéphanie Gauvin and Tim MacIsaac are saving up for treatment in Washington State, which includes a stem cell transplant and immunotherapy for Lucy. That could cost as much as a hundred thousand dollars. Fortunately, their pet insurance will cover most of it but what they really need now is a stem cell match.
This story was added to the podcast to assist the dog owners in their quest to find a biocompatible stem cell donor. But I have questions about the appropriateness of the situation.
I am gobsmacked that pet insurance would pay huge $$ for a stem cell transplant. I think pet health insurance should pay for immunizations, dental cleanings, blood tests, medications, and minor surgery. When coverage is extended to something like this, the result inevitably must raise the cost of pet insurance for everyone in the program, perhaps pricing such out of the budget of modest-income owners. If owners want something like this for life extension on a pet, perhaps a GoFundMe appeal could be set up to supplement the basic health insurance. Seeking opinions from readers on this.
I suppose it was inevitable that the animal medical industry would eventually ape the human medical industry in greedy profiteering, and now people are actually being priced out of owning pets. Of course they should blame themselves to a certain extent. I was at a friend's house the other day when a chiropractor came to treat his dog.
ReplyDeleteI’ve read with the advent of pet insurance vets have raised prices dramatically and people had to get insurance to cope with the increase. But everything has gone up dramatically so it’s questionable.
ReplyDeleteI September I went to the hospital for outpatient surgery. There from 6AM to 2:30PM, home for supper... $294,416.29.
xoxoxoBruce