If you are asking “Does pet insurance cover hip dysplasia?” The quick answer is yes! Most pet insurance companies will easily cover this as part of your contract.
5 Pet insurance companies that cover hip dysplasia
- ManyPets
- Spot
- ASPCA
- Embrace
- FetchPet
What is HIP DYSPLASIA in Pet?
According to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, hip dysplasia is one of the most serious and common disorders afflicting dogs and cats today. While the prevalence of hip dysplasia is determined by both heredity and the age of your pet, some breeds have occurrence rates of 50% or higher.
Cost of Treatment on HIP DYSPLASIA
The costs of treating pet hip dysplasia vary greatly because the therapy choices are so varied. On the high end, the cost of total hip replacement surgery could range between $4000 and $6,000. This could be determined by where you reside, the size of your pet, and the fees charged by the clinic.
A less invasive procedure, such as a femoral head and neck excision or a triple pelvic osteotomy, might cost between $1700 and $2500.
If you’re looking for something a little less expensive, hydrotherapy will likely cost you between $30 and $50 per session.
Finally, vitamins and drugs can be effective therapeutic options. On Amazon, the average bottle of daily joint supplements costs around $30, and a bottle of pet pain relievers is likely to cost around the same amount. If you buy over the counter, you can likely go more or lower than the average depending on the brand and where you buy.
Prescribed therapies, on the other hand, may be slightly more expensive. A bottle of Deramaxx, an anti-inflammatory drug for dogs, typically costs around $90-100.
So, no matter what, you should be able to locate a treatment choice for your pet that is within your financial constraints. Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for in some circumstances. Surgery, despite potentially eye-opening expenses, may be the best option for pets with severe hip dysplasia. However, for other pets, a proper diet with the proper amount of nutrients and exercise will suffice. Again, consulting with your veterinarian is the best way to ensure that you have a plan that is appropriate for your dog or cat.
Why coverage for hip dysplasia is important
Hip dysplasia is a genetic, frequently bilateral disorder in which your pet’s hip joints fail to function properly. This is most commonly caused when your pet’s hip socket and femoral ball do not fit properly. Hip dysplasia is a degenerative disease that can cause pain and make it difficult for your pet to walk, run, stand up, and enjoy life.
Hip dysplasia is especially common in large dogs like German shepherds and Brazilian Mastiffs. Any size dog, though, can be affected. Cats are not immune to hip dysplasia, as certain purebred cats and large-boned breeds are. This illness, however, is more frequent in dogs than in cats.
The diagnostic date is critical when it comes to getting your pet insurance carrier to fund hip dysplasia therapy. If your pet was already showing signs of hip dysplasia or had a veterinary diagnosis before you received pet insurance coverage (or during the waiting period for that policy), it will be deemed a pre-existing condition.
Unfortunately, pre-existing hip dysplasia is not covered by pet insurance, as costs associated with pre-existing diseases are never covered by pet insurance plans.
Even if your pet’s breed is predisposed to hip dysplasia, you can typically obtain coverage. Some policies, however, may exclude hip-related claims for a longer waiting period or during your pet’s first few years of life.
5 Pet insurance companies that cover hip dysplasia
Let’s look at five common pet insurance providers that provide coverage for hip dysplasia, as well as what that policy involves.
1. ManyPets
ManyPets is a pet insurance provider in Sweden, United Kingdom and United States that provides your pet with accident and illness coverage , as well as an optional wellness plan. This standard insurance plan will reimburse pet owners for up to 100% of eligible pet care costs, such as condition-related exams, diagnostic testing, medications, treatments, and even surgeries.
ManyPets’ hip dysplasia coverage
Hip dysplasia and other hereditary diseases are covered by ManyPets as long as there is no evidence of a pre-existing condition and the pet is under the age of six on the effective date of the policy.
There is a 15-day waiting period for coverage for illnesses and injuries, during which no claims will be reimbursed. If your pet develops a sickness or condition during the waiting time, it will be considered pre-existing and will be excluded from coverage.
Pet owners can select a plan that reimburses 80%, 90%, or 100% of qualified pet care charges. The number of claims you can file is unlimited. Deductibles range from $0 to $100, $250 to $500, and $750.
2. Spot
Spot offers pet insurance for both dogs and cats. There are plans that cover care for illnesses and injuries, like hip dysplasia, and an optional plan for preventative care.
Spot’s hip dysplasia coverage
As long as the hip dysplasia wasn’t there before, owners can get reimbursed for everything related to their pet’s hip dysplasia, such as exams, specialist care, alternative therapies, diagnostic exams, treatments, medications, and surgery.
The annual benefit limit for a Spot pet insurance plan can be anywhere from $2,500 to unlimited coverage. Eligible care costs can be reimbursed at a rate of 70%, 80%, or 90%, with an annual deductible of $100 to $1,000.
Before you can make a claim for your pet’s coverage costs, you have to wait 14 days. If your pet needs care during this time or shows signs of hip dysplasia before this waiting period is over, it will usually be seen as a condition that was already there.
3. ASPCA
With ASPCA Complete Coverage pet insurance plans, your pet’s care costs are covered for a wide range of illnesses and injuries, including conditions like hip dysplasia that are passed down from generation to generation.
ASPCA’s hip dysplasia coverage
As long as your dog or cat’s hip dysplasia wasn’t there before, the ASPCA will help pay for costs like diagnostic tests, treatments, prescription drugs, alternative therapies, and surgery.
When getting ASPCA pet insurance, pet owners can choose an annual deductible of $100, $250, or $500. They can also choose between an accident-only plan or an accident and illness plan. If you want hip dysplasia to be covered for your pet, you’ll need to choose accident and illness coverage from a Complete Coverage plan.
Care costs that qualify can be reimbursed at a rate of 70%, 80%, or 90%, with benefits ranging from $3,000 to an unlimited amount per year. Both injuries and illnesses have to wait 14 days before they can be treated. Your pet will be covered as long as they don’t get hip dysplasia before this time is up.
4. Embrace
Hip dysplasia, which can be passed down from parent to child, is covered by Embrace pet insurance plans as long as the condition wasn’t there before. With this coverage, pet owners can get their money back for costs like exams, tests, rehab, treatment, surgery, and more.
Embrace’s hip dysplasia coverage
Embrace does cover conditions on both sides, as long as neither was there before. If one side had care or a diagnosis before, the other side won’t be covered in the future.
Embrace has 14-day waiting periods for illnesses, 48-hour waiting periods for accidents, and six-month waiting periods for any orthopedic conditions. This means that you wouldn’t be able to make a claim for your pet’s hip dysplasia care for the first six months that you own the policy. This six-month wait time can be cut down to 14 days if you go to your vet and have them fill out an Orthopedic Exam and Waiver.
There is no lifetime limit on this coverage. Instead, you choose an annual limit between $5,000 and $30,000 when you buy your policy. Pet owners can choose between a 65%, 70%, 80%, or 90% reimbursement rate, and an annual deductible of $200 to $1,000.
5. FetchPet
FetchPet, which used to be called Petplan, is another pet insurance company that covers things like hip dysplasia. As long as this condition didn’t exist before you bought the policy, FetchPet coverage can pay for everything from exams to imaging and diagnostic tests, treatments, therapies, surgery, rehabilitation, and more.
FetchPet’s hip dysplasia coverage
With FetchPet, you can make an insurance plan for your pet that will reimburse 70%, 80%, or 90% of eligible care costs. The annual deductible can be $300, $500, or $700, and the annual benefit limit can be $5,000 or nothing.
There is a wait time of up to 15 days for both injuries and illnesses, depending on the state. Hip and knee problems, on the other hand, have to wait an extra six months. With a special vet exam, the waiting time for knee conditions can be skipped, but hip conditions must wait.
This means that if your pet is diagnosed with hip dysplasia or shows signs of it before six months have passed since your policy started, it will be considered a pre-existing condition.
Symptoms of hip dysplasia in Cats and Dogs
If you know what to look for, it’s easy to spot the signs of hip dysplasia. But if this is the first time you’ve dealt with the condition or you’re not sure if your pet has it or not, you might not notice it. Here are some tips on how to tell if your dog or cat has it.
Hip dysplasia means that your pet’s hip isn’t quite the right shape because of its genes. Because of this, their hip joint has some bone-on-bone contact, which makes walking, running, jumping, and getting up much more painful than usual. Hip dysplasia is caused by genes, but it could also be affected by where your pet lives, how big or heavy it is, or what it eats.
This means you should watch for signs of pain when your pet moves around, walks, or runs. Hip dysplasia could be present if the person walks funny or walks with a limp. You can also try to find out if the pain stays with them even when they’re not moving. Have they got trouble getting up from sitting or lying down? Check to see if your pet’s legs, joints, or lower body are hurting them in a way that you can see. If you start to notice something strange, you should tell your vet about it during your regular checkup.
In short, be on the lookout for:
- Any discomfort or strange movement while walking or running
- Walking with legs that don’t move and don’t bend at the joints
- Instead of walking, the bunny hops.
- Trouble getting up or down or moving slowly
- Back legs that aren’t developed enough
- When it comes to sports they used to enjoy, they no longer get excited about them (fetch, running, playing with toys, etc.)
- Not being willing to play
Treatment Options and Symptom Relief
There are numerous treatment methods available, ranging from surgery to vitamins.
The most obvious choice is surgery, which can be performed in a variety of ways. In severe circumstances, or when the dog or cat is no longer young, a surgeon can do a total hip replacement, which involves removing one or both hips and replacing the original hip with a synthetic one. If your pet is healthy enough to recuperate from a total hip replacement, the treatment may restore full range of motion and provide your pet with a pain-free life afterward. The disadvantages of this procedure are that it is invasive and expensive.
Femoral head and neck excision is a little less expensive surgery option in which a surgeon removes the ball of the joint and replaces it with a prosthetic head. In this case, a surgeon may choose to just remove the joint head and not replace it; your pet’s remaining muscle and joint tissue will ultimately knit together to form a functional joint, but without the painful bone-on-bone contact.
Other possibilities for dogs alone include Triple Pelvic Osteotomy and Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis, but both treatments are typically reserved for puppies who are still in their infancy (younger than ten and five months, respectively). Both types of surgery are extremely invasive and need the dog’s pelvic bones to be modified, thus a puppy’s rapid recovery period and lack of past hip damage are essential.
You might also wish to check into alternative therapies for your dog or cat, such as hydrotherapy. This may seem crazy to all the cat owners out there, but it may be worth the trouble. Hydrotherapy treatments can be used to reduce joint discomfort while also exercising them. This procedure can help your pet gain muscle, lose weight, and improve his or her range of motion – all of which are beneficial to a dog or cat with hip dysplasia.
Finally, joint supplements and medication are another option. Fish oils and other supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, iron, and calcium should be given to your pet on a regular basis.
When hip dysplasia becomes an issue, there are drugs available to help relieve the pain. You can give your dog or cat anti-inflammatory medication or pain relievers such as Deramaxx or Adequan with a veterinarian’s prescription. If it is not a serious case, you could take over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin. Again, consulting your veterinarian is critical, even if you’re just giving your dog or cat Aspirin; any drug could produce undesired side effects, especially if your pet is scheduled for hip surgery.
Prevention to hip dysplasia
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof technique to avoid hip dysplasia before it occurs. This is due to the fact that it is frequently an inherited condition. Some pets will always suffer from hip dysplasia. Having said that, lifestyle and diet can both play a role in the illness. The best thing you can do is exercise your pet on a daily basis, keep them from becoming overweight, and maintain them on a nutritious diet. This may help your pet avoid surgical intervention later in life.
In this situation, a healthy diet is one that is high in necessary vitamins. Omega-3 fatty acids (found in oily fish and algae), calcium (found in dairy products), iron (found in poultry, beef, and leafy greens), and glucosamine and chondroitin are all good sources of these nutrients (found in ingredients like bone broth and cartilage). All of these vitamins, which promote bone, cartilage, and joint health, are also available as supplements. (Note: If you’re thinking of giving your dog vitamins or drastically changing their food, consult with your veterinarian first.)
Susceptible Breeds
According to the Canine Health Information Center, some of the dog breeds most likely to suffer from hip dysplasia are:
- Bulldog
- Pug
- Old English Bulldog
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- Neapolitan Mastiff
- Brussels Griffon
- Saint Bernard
- Otterhound
- Clumber Spaniel
- Black Russian Terrier
- German Shepherd
- Golden Retriever
- Labrador Retriever
- Most large dog breeds
Some of the cat breeds most likely to suffer from hip dysplasia are:
- Persian
- Himalayan
- Maine Coon
- Devon Rex
- Siamese
- Bengal
- Abyssinian
Conclusion
One thing to keep in mind is that many insurance companies will classify hip dysplasia as a pre-existing disease. If your dog or cat has hip dysplasia at the time you get insurance, it is unlikely that it will be covered. In general, getting your pet insured early will provide you with adequate coverage for most genetic illnesses. This is why insurance premiums for specific breeds are higher. If you are unsure about your pet, you should consult a qualified veterinarian.
