Suffolk Veterinary Group Animal Wellness & Laser Surgery Center
requires that all charges incurred during a pet’s visit to
our hospital be paid in full at the time those services are rendered.
The only form of “billing” service we offer is CareCredit.
Our Veterinary Team will gladly prepare a written estimate for services, medication, treatments, and/or procedures upon your request during your pet’s office visit.
Because we believe that each pet is an individual and unique, there is no such thing as a routine cost for any procedure. Each estimate is tailored to fit your pet’s specific needs based upon your pet’s medical history, the Veterinarian’s diagnosis, and recommendations during the exam. Predicting what your pet needs through a phone call, when one of our Veterinarians have never examined your pet before, or has not seen them in over a month, simply cannot be done.
Examinations and consultations are required prior to all major procedures to assess your pet’s overall well being, obtain an accurate weight, do any pre-anesthetic testing that is necessary, make sure existing medical conditions have been resolved or will not be adversely affected by the procedure, and to discuss any of your concerns.
Click Here To Learn More About What Laser Surgery Can Offer Your Pet
All fees quoted upon an estimate expire 1 month from the date the estimate was provided. Due to the nature of the veterinary industry, our service providers change their prices unexpectedly, and we must adjust our own fees accordingly. It is the responsibility of the client to inquire about all service fees due at the time of the appointment or procedure to ensure payment can be made in full.
All fees are the same for any method of payment you choose, there is no discount or special pricing in regards to cash only payment, credit/debit payments, or CareCredit. We do not think it is within a patient’s best interest to “penalize” individuals who choose one form of payment over another. Please note, however, we do not accept personal or business checks as a form of payment, and returned check fees are $30.00, so please use your debit card.
We understand that sometimes veterinary costs may be unexpected, especially in emergency situations, which is why we have these payment options available.
Financial Assistance
The Humane Society of the United States has a website with links to various sources of financial assistance for pet owners in need. The Suffolk Veterinary Group Animal Wellness & Laser Surgery Center is not directly associated with any of these websites or organizations, and we do not know the details of their application process, or endorse any particular one. We’re providing the link to you as a helpful way of assisting in your research regarding angel funds or grants that are offered to families and pets in need of assistance in funding veterinary care.
On The Web: www.humanesociety.org
CareCredit Payment Plans
Our PetCare Team would like to invite you to apply for CareCredit, a payment plan for all of your pet’s healthcare needs. With CareCredit, you can benefit from low minimum monthly payments, no interest promotional periods, extended payment plans, and immediately finance 100% of the treatment cost if you qualify. This is an accepted form of payment at all the major specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals on Long Island, so getting your pet their referral does not have to have financial limitations. CareCredit can also be used for human medical needs as well.
Our CareCredit Payment Plans are described below:
**Standard Terms Apply To All Transactions Less Than $200.00. For interest rates on your CareCredit Standard Term Payment Plan, please consult your card’s terms and agreements, as interest rates vary by card holder.
**No Interest If Paid In Full Within 6-Months on transactions of $200.00-$499.00.
**No Interest If Paid In Full Within 18-Months on transactions $500.00 or more.
**New** 14.90% Interest Rate If Paid In Full Within 24-Months on transactions of $1,000.00 or more
Visit www.CareCredit.com to learn more and apply.
Pet Insurance
The Veterinarians and Veterinary Team of Suffolk Veterinary Group Animal Wellness & Laser Surgery Center highly encourage all of their families to enroll their pets in some form of Pet Insurance. There is such a wide variety of companies and programs out there it is almost certain you will find the right one for your needs and budget. Bring your pet’s insurance claim form during your pet’s visit for the Veterinarians to fill out. With Pet Insurance, payment is due up front, but after you submit your claim form to your pet insurance provider, you will be reimbursed based upon your policy specifications. Pet Insurance is particularly important for older pets with chronic medical conditions that require lots of veterinarian visits, in unexpected emergencies, and for chemotherapy treatments. If you have any questions, please stop by our hospital for literature.
Suffolk Veterinary Group Animal Wellness & Laser Surgery Center does not endorse any one particular pet insurance company over another, believing that you are the ones best able to make the decision as to which plan provider is right for you and your pet. Provided below are links to websites of pet insurance companies to assist you in your research as to the best policy to fit your pet’s particular needs:
VPI Pet Insurance — www.petinsurance.com
ASPCA Pet Health Insurance — www.aspcapetinsurance.com
The Humane Society PetPlan Pet Insurance — www.gopetplan.com
Trupanion Pet Insurance — www.trupanion.com
Pets Best Insurance — www.petsbest.com
North American Pet Health Insurance Association — www.naphia.org
Cash
Suffolk Veterinary Group Animal Wellness & Laser Surgery Center accepts payment in the form of United States of America legal tender. Please understand that while you may prefer to pay in cash, we are unable to give estimates over the phone simply because our procedures and medications are tailored to each pet’s individual and specific needs, which can only be determined at the time of the veterinarian’s examination. We will gladly temporarily house your pet at no additional cost at our hospital if you need to make a quick dash to the ATM.
ATM & Debit Cards
If your have a personal or business checking account, your bank most likely provided you with an ATM & Debit Card for the use of electronic fund transfers directly from your checking account. If your ATM card has a Visa or MasterCard logo on the bottom, more than likely it also doubles as a Debit Card. Please contact your banking institution for more information regarding your personal checking or business account ATM & Debit Card access. Please note, we have no longer accepted paper personal or business checks as a form of payment since September 1, 2011, so having an ATM & Debit Card for your checking account will make our processing your invoices faster and more of a convenience for you.
Credit Cards
All the major credit cards of Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express can be processed by our Front Desk PetCare Team to make payment for services.
We Do Not Accept Personal & Business Checks
Please be advised that we no longer accept paper personal or business checks as a form of payment. The reason for this is in order to keep veterinary costs affordable for the most amount of clients, we will be transitioning to a paperless, online banking business model. If you have a personal or business checking account, most banks provide an ATM & Debit Card for automatic electronic transfer of funds, which we will be more than happy to process for you as a form of payment for services rendered. If you are unsure of whether you have a Debit Card or not, if your checking account ATM card has a Visa or MasterCard logo on the bottom, you can most likely use it as a Debit Card. Using ATM & Debit Card electronic transfer of funds reduces our need to purchase paper products such as deposit slips and security bags (yes, banks do charge businesses for these services even though they are usually free for personal accounts) from the bank, which helps keep our services affordable for you. All personal and business checks returned to us for Non-Sufficient Funds (AKA “bounced” checks) will be subjected to a $30.00 fee, and your account will be placed in collections until paid in full. We do not accept post-dated checks.
Collections
Failure to make payment in full at the time services are rendered to your pet from our hospital will result in your account being sent to our collections department. As a result, your pet will be unable to receive services, prescription medications, health and rabies certificates, referrals to specialists, copies of the medical records, or faxes of medical records to other hospitals until such time as the account is paid in full. Monthly statements will be mailed to the address on file, and failure to pay your account in full by 120 days may result in your pet being unwelcome at our hospital in the future. All balances past due 30 days will be subjected to a monthly billing and service fee of $6.25 a month upon the entire amount due until the balance is paid in full.
We thank you for your understanding with these payment options, and we look forward to assisting you and your pet at your next visit! Call 631-696-2400 if you have any questions.