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Insurance Coverage for Alternative Pet Therapies

By Colleen Williams
published: March 5, 2013 - updated: November 6, 2020 • 2 min. read
Alternative Care for Pets

The Healthy Paws plan now covers alternative care coverage for cats and dogs! What exactly does alternative care coverage mean for your pets? It means Healthy Paws’ furry, four-legged policyholders are now covered to receive alternative therapies – such as acupuncture and chiropractic care – for conditions related to an accident, illness or injury.

While alternative medical treatments have been around for thousands of years and are used each year by millions of humans, it’s important to note that – as with any treatment for anything – the perfect solution for one pet’s health, may or may not be the perfect solution for another. It depends completely on the situation and on the pet.

Here’s ABC’s news’ coverage on the topic of treating pets with the best human medicine available:

Watch the Video

As far as how your Healthy Paws policy works, it’s important to note that alternative therapy treatments must be recommended and conducted under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Both are as important for the health of your pet, as they are for fulfilling the requirements of plan coverage.

Additionally, to clarify a frequently asked question people have, we do provide direct payments for approved claims to the veterinary hospital for scheduled procedures treating some of the more expensive treatments such as cruciate ligament repairs, IVDD (back surgery), foreign body removal and cancer treatment to name a few. Most of these treatments are in the $2,000+ range and it’s very helpful to the pet parent if we pay the hospital directly. By providing direct pay to the veterinary hospital, the pet parent can focus on caring for their furry family member and not worrying about expensive medical care.

If you have any questions about Healthy Paws’ policy or our new alternative therapy coverage, we are happy to provide further details or help you with getting a pet insurance quote. To happy and healthy pets!

colleen williams
By Colleen Williams

Over the past decade, Colleen has written about health, wellness, beauty, and even pets for The New York Times, The Cut, Refinery29, xoVain, Healthy Paws Pet Insurance, and Seattle Met Magazine, as well as many beauty brands. She has a BFA in Art History from the University of New Mexico and an AAS in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design in New York.

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