Anywhere from $1,700 to $4,700 depending on the treatment and where you live
Here's an example of hip replacement surgery performed on Cowboy, a one year old Labrador in Santa Clarita, California, December 2007.
Total cost for the surgery is $4,661 - gulp!
| ITEM |
BILLED AMOUNT |
| Examination |
48.00 |
| Operating Room Fee |
175.00 |
| Cardiac Monitor |
45.00 |
| Blood Pressure |
45.00 |
| Cefazolin |
31.00 |
| Torbutrol |
45.00 |
| Adequan |
45.00 |
| Pain Management Patch |
64.62 |
| Gas Anesthesia 60-120 |
375.00 |
| Ortho Implants |
1,250.00 |
| Total Hip Replacement |
1,750.00 |
| Hospitalization Large Dog |
285.00 |
| Medication Bid |
135.00 |
| Injection Bid 1 |
120.00 |
| Hazardous Waste Disposal |
5.00 |
| Cephalexin |
30.00 |
| Deramaxx |
30.00 |
| Synovi G3 Soft Chews #240 |
93.26 |
| Synovi G3 Soft Chews #180 |
75.78 |
| Tax |
13.94 |
| Acepromazine |
30.00 |
|
4,691.60 |
There were some items not covered by the Cowboy's Embrace Pet Insurance policy. Heather (Cowboy's owner) did not select the Drugs and Dental Extension for example so the Cephalexin and Deramaxx were not covered (a total of $273 of drugs not covered - a good lesson to get the Drugs and Dental Extension) - but the total Embrace payout in this case was $3,534.90.
Heather sent us a note about what happened:
Cowboy is not only my dog but my best friend. When I got him, I wanted to do my best to care of the little guy so I decided to get pet insurance.
One day when I was having a play day with Cowboy at the park, another dog charged at him and collied right into Cowboys side. I knew right away that he was hurting because he let out a loud yipe and from that moment on was limping. The following day, I took him to the vet and figured that he was going to have a sprain or a minor injury. To my surprise, the doctor wanted to take an X-ray and then diagnosed Cowboy with hip dysplasia. How could this happen to me and my dog? I didn't even know what hip dysplasia was.
The treatment that the doctors thought would be best for Cowboy was to undergo surgery. Thanks to Embrace Pet Insurance, my dog is now happy and healthy. Without this company's support and help my dog never would have gotten better!
Cowboy is once again going to the dog park and taking evening walks with me! Its nice to know that when something so devastating can happen that there is an insurance company that truly cares. The staff at Embrace was always friendly, constantly asking how cowboys surgery went and how the healing process was going, and always answered any questions i might have had! Cowboy and I are so grateful and will always consider them Cowboy's guardian angel.
Thanks Heather! That's what we are here for.
Note that if your pet insurance does not cover hereditary conditions or breed specific illnesses, this hip dysplasia claim would not have been covered as hip dysplasia is genetic.
As you can tell, Embrace does cover hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, cherry eye, and all those other hereditary conditions as long as your pet doesn't have any signs of them when you sign up for your insurance.
If you have a larger dog such as a Golden Retriever, German Shepherd or Rottweiler, you probably want dog insurance that covers hip dysplasia - you'd expect it to be covered, wouldn't you?