Month: March 2023
Craig Hitzelberger was uncertain his dear basset hound, Stub, would make it to his eleventh birthday this past summer considering the health problems he had been facing the last few months. When his elderly pooch was diagnosed with disc disease in the spring and faced an invasive surgery, Hitzelberger prepared for the worst.
Hitzelberger was worried that the surgery would be especially difficult on a dog of Stubs age. With such a valid concern in mind, it was no wonder he was reluctant to put Stubs through the procedure. Fortunately, Stub was covered by pet insurance, which provided Hitzelberger a variety of options to help rehabilitate Stub after the procedure.
“The insurance covered the diagnostics, the medications and even Stubs wheelchair,” said Hitzelberger.
Thats right, Stubs even got a wheelchair to aid him in his recovery. Hitzelbergers pet insurer, PetFirst Healthcare, reimbursed 90% of Stubs veterinary expenses after a $50 deductible, and included a custom wheelchair to help Stub re-learn how to support his hind end.
“Stub was reluctant to use the chair initially, but after he tried it three or four times, he was a natural,” said Hitzelberger. “Now he doesnt even need it. Thanks to pet insurance, Stub is happy and healthy and acts like a dog of eight or nine,” Hitzelberger added.
Hitzelberger has been a long-time believer in pet insurance. He has insured all of his basset hounds since the early 1990s.
“Even when my veterinarian ho-hummed about whether or not pet insurance was a good value for pet owners, I carried it on my dogs,” Hitzelberger said. “Id much rather pay $30 or $40 per month to have the peace of mind knowing I wont have to put my dogs down for financial reasons.”
Many people, to their disadvantage, do not understand that there really is a great difference between a 24 hour clinic in Houston and the emergency rooms in Houston. Many have seen advertisements, perhaps on television, for a 24 hour clinic in Houston, and wondered in what ways a 24 hour emergency clinic is different than emergency rooms in Houston. The great news is that, even though there are several differences, there are also a great many similarities between the two forms of health care. It should also be noted that most to all emergency clinics accept a wide array of insurance plans.
One major difference between a 24 hour clinic in Houston and the hospital emergency room is that the hospital is trained to handle both emergencies and non-emergencies. A 24 hour emergency clinic is normally only able to handle emergency situations. It is worth noting, however, that even though a 24 hour clinic in Houston only handles emergencies, they are not equipped to handle life-threatening emergencies that include the risks of complications.
In this case, one may wonder just how well a 24 hour clinic in Houston might replace the average hospital’s emergency room. For one thing, many of the people who frequent an emergency room do so with non-life threatening illnesses or complaints. These are the types of cases that are best handled by a 24 hour clinic in Houston. Also, the average 24 hour clinic in Houston accepts a wide array of medical insurance plans, whereas most hospitals are limited to accepting only the insurance with which they are affiliated.
If one has no insurance, or a very minimal coverage plan, then it is also cost-beneficial to contemplate a 24 hour clinic in Houston, as it is much cheaper to visit an emergency clinic than it is to visit the hospital emergency room. As an example, if an individual were to enter a 24 hour clinic in Houston with a cut finger that needs stitches, the charges would only be for the actual treatment of the wounded finger. At a hospital emergency room, in many cases, hundreds of dollars can be added on to one’s bill simply for the “convenience” of the emergency room visit. At a 24 hour clinic in Houston, there are no charges other than those directly related to the treatment for which one came into the 24 hour clinic in Houston.