Does Insurance Cover Emotional Support Animals?

Millions of Americans live with mental health challenges, and for many, adopting an emotional support animal (ESA) can make a world of difference in their daily lives. If you’re fortunate enough to have health insurance, you might wonder if it can help offset any of the costs of adoption or training an ESA. The answer is more complicated than you might think. Let’s find the answer to, “Does insurance cover emotional support animals?”

Does Insurance Cover the Cost of an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?

Unfortunately, most private and public health insurance policies don’t cover assistance animals, including service dogs and ESAs. One reason is because of the potentially high price of acquiring a trained service dog. Even though it may be more affordable to adopt an ESA, its costs are not typically covered by health insurance. However, if your insurance covers mental health treatments such as psychiatry or therapy, it might cover part of the cost of an ESA letter.

Go Deeper

What Are The Costs Associated With an Emotional Support Animal?

The main emotional support animal cost you will incur is the price of acquiring an ESA letter, which can cost up to $200+. Outside of that, you need to consider adoption costs for your ESA, as well as the cost of caring for your animal. These costs include food, enrichment, and vet bills.

What ESA-Related Costs Will My Insurance Cover?

However, that doesn't mean there aren’t some ESA-related that might be covered by your health insurance. Depending on your policy, you may have coverage for the psychological assessment associated with getting an ESA letter. If your insurance covers mental health treatments like psychiatry and therapy, your licensed mental health professional (LMHP) can assess your need for an ESA. 

Questions You Should Ask Your Insurance Provider

The most important questions to ask your health insurance provider are regarding mental health diagnoses and treatments. 

• Does my insurance cover mental health treatment?
• If it does, what therapies does it cover?
• Can I see a virtual therapist?
• How do I find a licensed mental health professional (LMHP)?
• Do they need to be in my network?
• Does my policy make any specific reference to an emotional support animal (ESA) letter?

What Are The Costs Related to Getting an Emotional Support Animal?

Just like any average pet owner, having an emotional support animal comes with responsibilities — and costs. The most common costs include:

• Adoption costs and fees
• Psychiatric evaluation with LMHP costs or co-pays
• ESA letter cost
• General pet care and supplies, including things like vivariums for reptiles, cages for rodents, and cages for birds
• Special access considerations 

How to Get An Emotional Support Animal Without Insurance

If you don’t have health insurance, or your policy doesn’t cover associated costs, you can still get an ESA without compromising your budget. First, you’ll need to adopt your ESA — any domesticated animal of any size or breed, including dogs, cats, birds, snakes, lizards, hamsters, guinea pigs, potbelly pigs, and miniature horses. Once you have your critter companion, you’ll need to purchase everything for its new home, including bedding and food. Once your pet is all set up, you’ll need to acquire an ESA letter, which you can do easily online.

Getting an ESA Letter Online without Insurance

Now that you have your assistance animal candidate ready, you can get an ESA letter online without insurance — and without breaking the bank. Pettable makes the process easy and stress-free. First, take our online ESA assessment, and we’ll link you with an LMHP licensed in your state. From there, they will diagnose your mental health disorder and issue your ESA letter, which you’ll receive between 24-48 hours later. Plus, you only pay Pettable to take care of the whole process, so you don’t have to worry about multiple payments. Plus, our ESA letter is 100% money-back-guaranteed!

Tips for Using Insurance to Cover Emotional Support Animal Costs

If you have health insurance that covers mental health therapies, you might be able to use your insurance to pay for part of the ESA letter’s cost. If you can seek treatment for your mental health concerns, you can get an ESA letter written by an LMHP, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, or counselor. If your insurance covers your meetings, you could get your ESA letter issued by them without much of a co-pay. 

Another option is to create a Flexible Savings Account (FSA), which is a tax-free account where you save money to use for medical expenses later. If you already have an FSA, you might be able to get an ESA letter paid for using it. If you are a senior, check to see if your Medicare plan covers an ESA assessment, as well. 

Always contact your insurance provider to get the most up-to-date details on your plan, your mental health treatment coverage, your co-pays, and other important information that might help you get an ESA letter. There might be some fine print in your favor that you wouldn’t want to miss!