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Post by tinytippytoes on Mar 14, 2011 3:48:47 GMT -5
WoW didn't expect so many responds. But I'm still thinking over all the pros and cons. My ferts then were healthy. Except for Joey. They didn't get any of the disease you guys talk about. Now I don't remember their ages because it was moons ago but they were all adopted. I know they weren't babies but they weren't very old. I was thinking last night that I really do miss them. miamiferret2 can you tell us a little more about that health insurance?
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 7:17:08 GMT -5
It is a plan where they reimburse you. It is the "exotic" plan. For 1 ferret it is $120 per year or $10 per month. You have a benefits schedule that tells you how much they will reimburse and for what. When you go to the vet you have to take s form with you (and your benefits schedule so your vet can see what is covered) then your vet fills out the tentative diagnosis and the diagnosis and services performed. He does not have to sign it but his contact info has to be on the form. Then, you attach a copy of your get bill / receipt and fax it to VPI. Your reimbursement check arrives in the mail a few weeks later. Sometimes they may need to contact your vet and ask him for more info or med records. They notify you when they need more info.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 7:33:58 GMT -5
You were lucky that you had healthy ferrets. What year/decade did you own ferrets? We had ferrets in the 80's bc my dad likes them a lot too. They did get lose their hair (adrenal) and they did die of mysterious illnesses but the vets didn't have a name for anything bc most of them they knew nothing about ferrets. Trip to the vet in the 80's and 90's: "why is my ferret losing hair?" Response: "oh, just old age." "Why can't my ferret use his hind legs?" Response: "old age." When you walked in to a vets office with a ferret, they didn't do much in those days and they treated you as if you brought in a rat or a hamster like "oh big deal, just buy another." then I guess they saw that there us actually money to be made of of ferrets because alot if people started to own them. I remember our vet in the early 90's my ferret was losing his hair and dropping weight the vet was clueless. One of them told me to use "pine bark extract" to help him regrow his hair. Ha! Not a mention of lupron, melatonin, deslorelin. We had none of that. I think back and I am positive that some of our ferrets back then had insulinoma and/or adrenal.100% positive. The signs were all there. The drooling, spaced out, hair loss, lethargy. I don't know when people (vets) started documenting these illnesses that are common in ferrets. But someone did and now there is a name for everything.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 7:44:30 GMT -5
Truth is, that is only 20 years time (90s to 2010s). Imagine what we are learning about the little guys this decade. In your ferrets lifetime, there will likely be even better vet care.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 10:37:27 GMT -5
Thanks miami! I'll have to check it out!
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 12:39:03 GMT -5
lots of things are covered. splenectomy surgeries and adrenal treatment is NOT covered. you are allowed a certain amount per year. just to give you an example, in 2009, i paid $120 for my ferret's health insurance. i received over $650.00 in reimbursements for his health care. so it paid for itself several times over. same thing in 2010. i paid $120 in april. and that year he had a bunch of things done. lots of emergency vet trips and i received over $400 in reimbursements. so it really did pay for itself. totally worth it. I enrolled little fat head Sonny as soon as i could. to enroll them your ferret has to be living with you for a certain amount of time. like 30 days or something. then, their coverage begins 30 days later. I believe this is accurate. not sure. but they do make you wait a month before it kicks in. so get it while they are healthy. here is the benefits schedule. just follow this link and click on the benefits sched for the avian and exotic plan. i find that it is important to bring this list to your vets office so that they word things correctly. my ferret's vet keeps a file in his office with these blank forms because alot of his clients have this insurance. but i always download the form and take them with me because sometimes they change the form. www.petinsurance.com/Plans-And-Coverage/Birds-And-Exotic-Pets.aspx
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 12:47:59 GMT -5
jackie some of the things that i have been reimbursed for: insulinoma blood tests ( i accumulated a few months worth then i submitted them all at once), skin biopsies, gastrointestinal problems (lord knows we've seen alot of those), heart problems, ultrasounds, etc. lots of things on there. they reimburse for you for blood titers, cbc's, blood chem panels, things like that. the key is how your vet words the primary diagnosis and any secondary diagnosis. take the benefits schedule to him. you are reimbursed more for whatever testing is related to a primary diagnosis (or tentative diagnosis). the second column is for the secondary diagnosis. there is an exclusions page in the beginning and the sentence about ferret adrenal treatment and associated splenectomy's appears there. of course, they exclude the most common thing...that dang deslorelin implant better work because i had to come out of pocket for all of the adrenal treatment on my last baby.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 12:55:32 GMT -5
oh wait, and the good thing is that your vet can write a TENTATIVE diagnosis too. so for example, i had one of my ferrets checked for cardiomyopathy. he had x-rays, an ultrasound, etc. and they reimbursed me. turns out his heart was perfectly fine but at least i was reimbursed for that huge bill.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 20:28:52 GMT -5
Thanks! I am definitely going to look into this. It's too bad they don't have a multiple pet discount. I might have to get it for Pixie and then wait to get it for the next one.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 20:36:15 GMT -5
They might. I'd call them and ask if they give any group discounts.
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 20:37:30 GMT -5
if you wanted to sign up a ferret you have to call anyway bc you can't enroll them online.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 20:39:47 GMT -5
Will do Thanks for the info
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 21:13:33 GMT -5
if you wanted to sign up a ferret you have to call anyway bc you can't enroll them online. Thank you Miami, I've read through all this and I'm considering getting VPI for my ferret Teddy now. It sounds beneficial, though I read on their exclusions page online for ferrets this - " For ferrets, diagnosis, medical management, or surgical correction of any endocrine tumors, both benign and malignant, or endocrine hyperplasias of any kind, or associated splenectomy." Is the tumor thing new? Also, I was wondering if you might be interested in posting a whole thread about your experiences with VPI and ferret insurance, I really feel this is something a lot of us could truly use, what with all the problems our poor babies are faced with. Ferrets have more health problems, IMO, than most cats and dogs if fed a raw diet. I know I'd appreciate reading more about what you've seen and your journey with it.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 14, 2011 21:34:02 GMT -5
If there's enough interest, I can certainly sticky it.
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