Pumpkin is a pet insurance company that provides coverage for cats, dogs, kittens, and puppies, as well as providing a preventative wellness program. Pumpkin offers comprehensive coverage for pets, including MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays.
They are covered under Pumpkin’s “accident” portion of their coverage but can also be applied to illness (such as a scan to look for cancer).
Are There Any Situations Where Pumpkin Won’t Cover X-rays or Other Imaging?
Like with any insurance company, there are certain situations in which Pumpkin won’t cover MRI, X-rays, or CT scans (or other imaging procedures). These are usually universally applied by all insurance companies, particularly for pre-existing conditions and sometimes cruciate ligament injuries.
With Pumpkin, there are a few reasons why they might not cover a pet’s medical imaging:
Waiting Periods
There is a 14-day waiting period for all accident, illness, and cruciate/ knee claims with Pumpkin insurance. This means that for 14 days following the date the insurance coverage starts, Pumpkin will not cover any diagnostic imaging that your pet needs.
This will also mean that any imaging declared to Pumpkin, even if it’s not accepted and covered, will then be classed as a pre-existing condition and won’t be covered going forward.
Cruciate or Knee Injury
A special clause in Pumpkin’s sample policy details when they won’t cover ligament and knee conditions. Coverage for any ligament or knee conditions, including any imaging such as an x-ray or MRI that’s needed for them, won’t be covered if they occurred “prior to the first effective date of the applicable coverage” or during a waiting period.
Non-medical or “Elective” Reasons
Pumpkin won’t cover any elective procedures or problems arising from breeding, including imaging. This could include ear cropping, tail-docking, non-essential dentistry, and imaging to look for retained puppies, for example. If you are struggling to find a plan with Pumpkin we suggest checking out one of these other insurance companies.
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Does Pumpkin Pet Insurance Price Get More Expensive With Age?
Pumpkin uses a common pricing model (like most other pet insurance providers) called “birthday pricing.” Birthday pricing is the automatic increase of price in pet insurance costs every year your pet has a birthday, whether you claim it or not.
Older pets will still get coverage, however, including coverage for accident-only medical imaging, as there is no upper age limit for pets with Pumpkin. Pets 15 years or older will be able to get accident-only coverage, but they won’t get full accident and illness coverage as illnesses such as cancer are more likely in older pets.
What Is Diagnostic Imaging and What Is It Used For?
Diagnostic imaging in veterinary medicine is used to see inside the body without the use of surgery or to get a much better look at certain structures, such as bones or inside organs.
There are several types of imaging that are used in veterinary medicine, which are each used for different purposes:
MRI—Magnetic Resonance Imaging
An MRI scan is commonly used to look at all body tissue types, such as spinal and brain tissue. MRI is very safe and uses powerful magnets to take several images of tissues that are put together on a computer for viewing.
CT Scan—Computed Tomography
CT scans are similar to MRI scans, but they use X-rays to take pictures of the body in “slices” that are placed together on a computer to produce detailed, full images. All types of tissues can be seen with CT.
X-Ray
X-rays are a very common kind of imaging, which uses x-ray radiation to see bones or other radio-opaque tissues (like tumors) in the body. One picture is taken from one angle at a time, and the image is either processed manually or from a computer.
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Conclusion
Like most other pet insurance providers, Pumpkin will cover MRIs, X-rays, and other diagnostic imaging in most cases for your pet. Certain conditions must be met for the company to provide coverage. For example, the imaging must not be for a pre-existing condition or for elective procedures. However, usually, Pumpkin will cover any necessary imaging under the accident and illness plans.
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