Don’t Rely on Pet Insurance for Your Meds – Get a Discount Card!

Have you noticed that veterinary offices are offering more extensive treatments, therapies, and medications for your pet than ever before? After all, your pets aren’t just animals that you keep around for amusement – they are family! More people than ever are willing to pull all stops with regards to pet care now that the options are there. However, with all of these new treatments and meds come elevated costs that are increasingly hard to pay out of pocket. While pet insurance is becoming more common, the service falls flat on several fronts, one of which is pet medication coverage.

The good news is that there is another way to save money on meds for pets, and that is to get a prescription discount card. A discount card is not insurance, but provides savings on meds when presented at a pharmacy or vet’s office. Here are some of the main advantages of a discount card for your pets over insurance.

Pet Insurance can be Expensive

Pet insurance covers you for some specialty and emergency meds and treatments, but it can be prohibitively expensive for something that you may never use. These plans do not cover pre-existing conditions or routine care, so if you invest in it you’ll be paying in full for anything but unexpected injuries and new illnesses. While this can come in handy in the right circumstances, there are often too many exclusions to be useful. And it’s certainly not worth it just for medication coverage because . . .

Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover Flea Meds

While pet insurance covers some meds, it doesn’t handle any flea medications. As anyone who has ever dealt with a flea infestation can tell you, the meds are extremely expensive (at least the ones that work!) and they often have to be used for several months before the problem is cleared up. Many vets will actually recommend preventative flea treatments, which means that the payments will be an ongoing expense.

Your average quality flea meds will be about $40-$60 for a six pack. Now, if you only have one dog, that’s a pill a month for six months, which doesn’t seem too bad. But add on a couple of cats or another dog of a different weight range and the cost goes up a lot! A discount card could be the difference between getting rid of the fleas and suffering for months on end, as well as risking complications such as worms, allergic reactions, and infections in your furry family member!

Pet Insurance Doesn’t Cover Heartworm Meds

Dogs are particularly prone to heartworm, and most vets will recommend monthly preventative treatments as a basic precaution. However, this is another thing that pet insurance doesn’t cover. Heartworm meds also come in packs of six or twelve (one a month), and can cost anywhere from about $30 to $100, depending on the brand. Because some dogs have allergies or other health issues, or live with cats, there may only be certain brands that your vet will prescribe (for instance, there are heartworm meds that are dangerous for cats and cannot be used on dogs in the same household). If you end up with one of the more expensive brands, you should be able to pay for it, and a discount card can help!
When you have pets, nothing is more important than keeping them happy and healthy. A prescription medication discount card can provide you the means to take care of them properly – and afford it at the same time! If you already have pet insurance, a discount card will not work in conjunction with it, but you can use it for the important, standard things that the policy doesn’t cover. Get the card today at WiseRX!