Why Aren't Our Pets Covered By Our Health Insurance Plans?Life

Chris Smith
April 29, 2022

We love our pets and care for them like family members, but they often cost as much, if not more, than our cars do in annual checkups and maintenance.

The cost of pet insurance is not that much different from the costs of health insurance. It is only fair that users should be able to cover their pets with their health insurance plans. According to a study, the number of pet owners who have health insurance for their pets has increased by 16% in the last 10 years. This is due to the increasing costs and expenses for pet owners.

There are many reasons why it would be beneficial to cover pet care with our healthcare plans, including reducing user costs and making this process more efficient.

I have two dogs, Ambrose and Cerberus. They are loving, wonderful creatures that enrich our lives and ew couldn't imagine life without them. That being said, we knew when we adopted both of them that someday we would have to say goodbye. It's what all pet owners eventually have to do.

But while they are still here, we do everything we can to give them the best life possible: sleeping on the bed, buying them good food that isn't filled with garbage, giving them table scraps from time-to-time. We also take them for regular vet visits and checkups and keep them up-to-date on their vaccines.

And this is where the point of this article becomes clear: I took Cerberus in for a regular checkup earlier this week that resulted in a $600 bill from my vet. I like the veterinarian that we go to and they have always done a good job, but an unexpected $600 vet bill is kind of outrageous, especially for a fairly routine check up.

This got me thinking (and questioning) why it is that we pay so much for our own health insurance, but that our pets are not able to be covered under the same plan? This should absolutely be an option on all health insurance plans.

What do you think? Would you opt to include your pets on your health insurance plan if you could? Do you already have pet insurance through your vet of insurance provider?