Sunday, December 26, 2010

Claim Example: diabetes in a 7 year old mixed breed female cat

Tey-Tey-Mixed-Breed-Cat Diabetes can strike fast and is always unexpected.

Here's an interesting example of Tey-Tey, a 7 year old mixed breed female spayed cat from Silver Spring MD, who had no pre-existing conditions when she was insured at age 7 but who suddenly starts drinking water like crazy and losing weight rapidly. She was quickly diagnosed with Feline Diabetes Mellitus and put on a standard course of treatment.


Tey-Tey went through a series of ups and downs with her treatment but has finally stabilized so that she now only needs 1 unit per day of insulin, down from 6 units per day, which is great news!


From her pet parent when I asked him how Tey-Tey is doing:


She's doing well. Tey-Tey and I have adjusted to the routine, and I now know what 'normal' looks like for a diabetic kitty. I learned from my experiences, though, how having an animal with a chronic condition that affects so many things complicates any potential visit to the vet, so the insurance is a good thing to continue.


Here's a summary of Tey-Tey's treatment over a course of 3 years. The key to her coverage was for Tey-Tey's policy to include take home drugs, which covers all the insulin, needles and syringes needed for the insulin shots every day.











































































































































































































Claim StatusDescriptionClaim Amount

Paid
Amount


Deductible RemainingDate of Service
First Policy Period Started 4/12/2008



Applied to Deductiblediabetes282.750.0067.506/23/2008
Paiddiabetes246.88161.440.006/26/2008
Paiddiabetes complications177.00159.300.006/29/2008
Paiddiabetes mellitus-bg curve142.83128.550.007/2/2008
Paiddiabetes meds and diarrhea while boarding606.20295.380.007/6/2008
Paiddiabetes527.99475.190.008/25/2008
Paiddiabetes293.5863.450.007/6/2008
Paidhypoglycemia, nausea, inappetance770.09693.080.009/10/2008
PaidInsulin & syringes160.73144.660.0011/6/2008
PaidDiabetes Mellitus & T-4 Test458.86412.970.002/17/2009
PaidDiabetes Mellitus170.00166.500.002/24/2009
PaidDiabetes - Glucose Curve & Glucose Level125.00112.500.003/10/2009
PaidDiabetes, Glucose Curve & Urinalysis154.00138.600.003/25/2009
Total
4,115.912,951.62

Second Policy Period 4/12/2009



Applied to Deductiblediabetic feline, T474.500.00125.504/18/2009
PaidDiabetes, bloodwork and urine testing & Ear Infection511.40270.810.009/23/2009
PaidDiabetes Mellitus423.67334.500.003/10/2010
PaidDiabetes116.00104.400.003/22/2010
Total
1,125.57709.71

Third Policy Period 4/12/2010



PaidDiabetes Mellitus218.5016.650.005/14/2010
Total
218.5016.65


Tey-Tey's policy looks like this:


$200 deductible; 20% copay percentage; $5,000 annual maximum; drugs and dental illness coverage included. Total monthly cost for the policy (Tey-Tey is now 9 years old) is $59.87 a month.