Consumer Reports Recommends HSAs for Pets
The same group that wants national health insurance for humans? The very one. Here's the full story:
Shopping for pet care:
When it was time to spay and neuter our cats, our veterinarian gave me a price close to $1,000 for both…… He came down a few hundred dollars, but it was still too much. So I went searching and found several options…… I received guidance through our local shelter and ended up paying less than $200 for both our cats.
Pet health insurance:
For about $400 to $500 a cat each year – minus deductibles – we could be covered for both wellness care and accident or illness. That would be less than we paid out of pocket.
Pet HSAs:
Noting that the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reports that an average surgical visit to a veterinarian is $363 for a cat and $453 for a dog, Consumer Reports suggests that it may be better to put the amount you would spend in premiums in an interest-bearing account.
Pet medical tourism:
A friend of mine was told it would cost around $1,000 to clean her two dogs' teeth in the New York area. Since her family was planning a trip to North Carolina with the pets, she checked out the cost there. It was less than half, and her dogs ended up with shiny white teeth and a vacation.
Center of Excellence:
I guess I use the “Mayo clinic” of vets. Our visits are much cheaper than the “average surgical visit to a veterinarian is $363 for a cat and $453 for a dog.” If everyone visited my vet, the cost of catcare could be reduced by 60%.
I’ve never heard anybody recommend national health insurance for pets. As far as I know, all rational people favor a free market for pet care and the freer the better.
All of which proves people are much more capable of thinking rationally about pets than they are about people.
$500 a year for insurance for a cat?
A human child can get HSA insurance in Tampa Bay, 34691 zip code, for $463.68 a year with $5 million lifetime maximum benefit. (Humana Autograph Total HSA) Check it out on ehealthinsurance. It’s only $415.68 a year unless you raise the lifetime max to $5 million.
I bet the cat insurance doesn’t have a $5 million lifetime max.
Of course an interest bearing account for the cat’s medical expenses would be a taxed account. A taxed account would be very different from the tax free HSA.
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