Does Pet Insurance Cover Medications and Prescriptions?

Quick Takeaways

• With a MetLife Pet plan, you could be reimbursed up to 90% of the cost of vet-prescribed medications.¹
• Like prescription medications, MetLife Pet offers coverage for prescription pet food.
• Alongside heartworm prevention coverage, MetLife Pet’s optional Preventive Care plan can help you cover the costs of flea, tick, and other parasite prevention medication.
• Enrolling your pet when they’re younger or healthier can help you avoid pre-existing condition exclusions later on when they need medicine.

There's a decent chance a vet will prescribe medication to help your pet at some point in their life. While giving your pet medicine may be a challenge, paying for it doesn’t have to be. MetLife Pet Insurance can typically reimburse you for prescriptions and medications related to covered conditions.¹

Let’s explore how veterinary prescription coverage works, the kinds of medications that may be covered, those that are usually excluded, and potential costs.

MetLife Pet Offers Pet Prescription Insurance

With a MetLife Pet plan, you could be reimbursed up to 90% of the cost of vet-prescribed medications.¹ But there are two key things to know about getting your pet’s medicine covered by MetLife Pet Insurance:

1. A vet has to prescribe the medication.
2. The prescription must be to treat or manage a condition that’s covered by your policy.

Most pet insurance plans provide pet prescription coverage, but your specific coverage can vary depending on your insurance provider and selected plan.

For example, if you have an accident-only plan, medications are only coverable if they would help treat your pet when they’re injured — but not when they’re ill or have a health condition. If you would benefit from more comprehensive pet insurance medication coverage, MetLife Pet offers an accident and illness plan.

Does MetLife Pet Insurance cover prescription food?

Like prescription medications, MetLife Pet offers coverage for prescription pet food. Similarly, you’ll need to have a vet prescribe it for a covered medical condition. Prescription pet food can be fed to your furry companion to help treat or manage food sensitivities, chronic conditions, weight issues, and more. Getting reimbursed could help you more easily budget for this necessary and recurring expense.

How do you get pet medication coverage?

After enrolling your pet in a policy, you can submit claims to be reimbursed for covered medications. When your pet is prescribed medication by their vet, you’ll pay for it upfront, submit a claim to your provider, and once you’ve met your deductible, you can be reimbursed for eligible expenses at your chosen rate.¹

What Kinds of Medication Can Be Covered?

Cats and dogs may need medicine for any number of reasons — from allergies and upset stomachs to broken bones and kidney disease. They may only need prescription medications one time, or they might require lifelong medication to manage a chronic illness. Additionally, your vet may administer the medication themselves or send you home with a prescription.

A MetLife Pet plan may be able to help you cover the costs of vet-prescribed medications, like:

• Antibiotics, antifungals, and anti-inflammatories
• Pain, allergy, and anxiety medications
• Insulin for diabetes
• Specific medications for treating illnesses (like cancer, asthma, or heart disease)
• Eye and ear drops
• Holistic care medicine (like vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies)

Certain over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for your pet might fall under your coverage if your vet prescribes them to treat a covered condition.

Does pet insurance cover flea medication?

In certain cases, yes. Alongside heartworm prevention coverage, MetLife Pet’s optional Preventive Care plan can help you cover the costs of flea, tick, and other parasite prevention medication. Flea and tick meds can be expensive, but they’re crucial to protecting your pet from parasites and diseases.

While standard pet insurance plans don’t typically provide pet insurance for flea meds, look for wellness plans you can add for coverage.

Exclusions to Pet Prescription Insurance Coverage

Many pet prescriptions can be covered by pet insurance. But knowing the exclusions can be helpful in ensuring you get the right plan for you. MetLife Pet typically won’t provide coverage for medications under the following conditions:

• If the medication wasn’t prescribed by a vet
• If the medication is related to something that’s not covered by your policy, like a cosmetic procedure
• If the medication is for routine care, like parasite prevention — unless you get optional coverage that includes this
• If the condition the medication is for is considered a pre-existing condition

If your pet needs prescription medication to treat a pre-existing condition, you may still be able to get it covered by MetLife Pet if that condition and its medication are currently covered by another provider and you switch to MetLife Pet through your employer.²

How Pet Insurance for Medications Can Help You Save on Costs

The overall cost of pet prescription medications depends on which medicine(s) your pet needs, the dosage, your location, where you buy the medicine from, and the length of time your pet needs to take it.

Looking at various online pet pharmacy stores, you can see that medication costs could range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. But these stores don’t carry the kind of medication your pet can only get at the veterinarian — like certain chemotherapy medicines that could reach thousands of dollars.

To help you see how pet prescription coverage can help you save money, take a look at what a handful of families paid for their pet’s medication — some are one-time purchases and others are recurring — and how much they were reimbursed because of their MetLife Pet policy.^1,3

Pet insurance could be worth it to help you with the cost of both short- and long-term medications. Enrolling your pet when they’re younger or healthier can help you avoid pre-existing condition exclusions later on when they need medicine.

Get Pet Medication Coverage With MetLife Pet Insurance

Pet medications often follow veterinarian visits. And while it can be a relief to know what’s going on with your pet, medication to help them feel better might put a dent in your bank account.

With a pet insurance policy from MetLife Pet, you could get money back on vet-prescribed medication — even parasite prevention meds through Preventive Care.

The cost of prescriptions shouldn’t be a barrier to helping your pet get better when they’re sick or hurt. Enroll them in a customized plan today to help you save on future medications. Start with a free quote.