Does Pet Insurance Cover Heartworm Treatment and Prevention?

Infected mosquitoes transmit heartworms to dogs, cats, and other pets.^[1] Year-round prevention helps protect your furry friend from heartworm disease. 

While there’s no cure, treatment is often possible, even in severe cases. But it can be costly. Pet insurance may cover heartworm prevention and treatment (or a portion of it), but exact coverage varies depending on your plan and insurer.

Here’s what you need to know about heartworm prevention and treatment coverage.

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What are heartworms?

Heartworms are foot-long worms that can cause heartworm disease, a potentially fatal condition in pets.^[2] Mosquitoes transfer heartworm larvae from infected pets or local wildlife. The heartworms live in the host’s heart, lungs, and blood vessels, where they can cause heart failure, severe lung disease, or other organ damage if left untreated.

Heartworm disease most commonly affects dogs. In dogs, heartworm larvae mature into adults and reproduce hundreds of offspring. Once mature, heartworms can live in dogs for up to seven years.

Cats aren’t typical heartworm hosts. While they can get heartworms, it’s less common than with dogs. In cats, heartworms typically remain immature, but they can cause a serious condition called heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD). Since symptoms of heartworm disease differ between cats and dogs, vets may fail to diagnose it in cats.

How are heartworms treated?

If your furry friend tests positive for heartworms, prompt treatment becomes crucial. Here’s a closer look at how heartworm treatment works for dogs and cats:

• 

  Treating heartworms in dogs

  • Restrict activity. After a heartworm diagnosis, you’ll need to restrict your dog’s activity to prevent further damage to the heart and lungs.^[3]

  • Stabilize the disease. Your vet may stabilize your dog’s condition with medication or steroids before treating the heartworms. In severe cases, this step can take up to a few months.

  • Administer treatment. Once your dog is stabilized, treatment to eliminate the heartworms begins.

  • Test for heartworms. After six months of treatment, the vet will test your dog to ensure no heartworms remain.

  • Keep up with prevention. As a final step, your vet will put your dog on year-round heartworm prevention to prevent your pet from contracting heartworm disease again.

• 

  Treating heartworms in cats

  • Stabilize the disease. Unlike for dogs, there’s no approved heartworm treatment for cats. But if your cat tests positive, your vet can create a long-term care plan to manage the condition. This may include careful monitoring, surgically removing the heartworms, or giving your cat medications to treat heart and lung symptoms.^[4]

  • Keep up with prevention. Whether your cats live indoors or outdoors, keeping them on year-round heartworm prevention can prevent them from contracting heartworm disease again.

Does pet insurance cover heartworm treatment?

If your pet insurance includes accident and illness coverage, it may cover heartworm treatment. With this coverage, you may be reimbursed for X-rays, medications, hospital visits, surgeries, and other care your pet needs for heartworm treatment.

Keep in mind that insurers each have different reimbursement requirements. For instance, some pet insurance companies may cover treatment without restrictions. On the other hand, others may require proof that your pet has been on a heartworm preventative for a specific period of time. In some instances, an insurer may exclude heartworm treatment coverage entirely.

To find out if your pet insurance covers heartworm treatment, you can take the following steps:

1. Check your policy documents. Look carefully at your policy to see if your coverage includes prescription heartworm treatment as a benefit. If your plan doesn’t cover it, you may find it listed under policy exclusions.

2. Review your schedule of benefits. Many pet insurance plans reimburse you for care costs, including imaging, medications, and veterinary visits. If your policy covers heartworm treatment, you should see your reimbursement amount for different services listed in the schedule of benefits.

3. Contact your insurer. If you’re unsure whether your dog’s insurance policy covers heartworm treatment, contact your insurer directly. Many insurers offer the option to chat with an agent online, by phone, or by email.

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Does pet insurance cover heartworm prevention?

Pet insurance may cover heartworm prevention, depending on your policy type. 

Accident and illness plans don’t typically cover preventative care, so you’ll have to pay out of pocket for heartworm prevention. But if you have an optional wellness plan, you may receive reimbursement for all or part of your pet’s heartworm prevention medication.

Heartworm prevention generally costs between $6 and $18 per month, depending on the medication used, the type of pet you have, and your pet’s size. Although you can typically get heartworm prevention from your vet, you’ll need a prescription and a yearly heartworm test, which typically ranges between $35 and $75.^[5]

Heartworm prevention options for dogs include:

• Chewable pills: Administered monthly

• Topical “spot-ons”: Administered monthly

• Injectable medications: Administered every six or 12 months

Heartworm prevention options for cats include:

• Chewable pills: Administered monthly

• Topical “spot-ons”: Administered monthly

• Injectable medications: Administered every six months

Cost of heartworm treatment

If your pet tests positive for heartworm, treatment costs can be pricey, ranging from $500 to $6,000. Exact costs depend on factors like the severity of your pet’s condition, its size, treatment plan, and how long care is needed.

For instance, X-rays to look for heart and lung damage average $150 to $250, while the FDA-approved injection used to kill adult heartworms in dogs, melarsomine dihydrochloride, costs around $360. Surgery to remove heartworms can range between $3,000 and $6,000.

Since many pet insurance plans don’t cover heartworm treatment costs, you may pay all or part of these costs out of pocket.

How to file a claim for heartworm treatment

If your pet needs heartworm treatment, your pet insurance company may reimburse you for some or all of the cost. Follow these steps to file a reimbursement claim:

1. Treat your pet for heartworms. Work with your vet to follow appropriate treatment protocols, which may include medications, imaging, blood work, surgery, hospitalization, and other short- and long-term care.

2. Pay for care out of pocket. Most pet insurance companies reimburse you after you pay for veterinary costs up front. Since heartworm treatment often takes several months and different veterinary interventions, you’ll likely have to pay multiple bills while your pet receives care.

3. Submit a claim. Most insurers let you submit a claim online or in an app. Be prepared to upload a copy of your vet bill, your pet’s medical records, and other information your insurer requires, such as proof of heartworm prevention before treatment. You’ll likely have to submit multiple claims during treatment.

4. Wait for approval. Your pet insurance company will either approve or deny your claim immediately or within a few weeks.

5. Receive reimbursement. If you have coverage, your insurer will pay the agreed-upon percentage of your costs, minus your outstanding deductible. Since your insurance may cap coverage amounts, you may be responsible for some treatment costs, especially if an expensive procedure (like a surgery) exceeds your benefit amount.

Pet insurance for heartworm treatment FAQs