California has dinged Jean Dodds again for practicing veterinary medicine without a license. It’s been five years since the California […]
“I’m not paid any royalties nor do I make a % of sales,” Dr. Becker told The Canine Review when asked about the financial relationship between her blog and Mercola. She added: “I’m paid to formulate and create unique, human grade pet products, and like you, paid to write articles.” Dr. Becker declined to specify the amount in dollars but did say she does not earn any commission for sales resulting in clicks originating from her blog.
The number of dogs now at risk for fatal liver diseases has skyrocketed over the past decade and the culprit is excess levels of copper in commercial dog diets.
It’s taking a little bit of liberty. It’s a bit of an exaggeration on their part….It’s more that they just submitted these rates to us, and we are aware of them.” – NYDFS official
NYDFS: NY ‘Approval’ Claim Not True
“The department does not technically have the authority to approve [pet insurance rates]… These rates are just submitted to us. We do not have the authority to review them prior to publishing,” an official at New York’s Department of Financial Services told TCR.
When asked if Trupanion’s statement about NYDFS approving an 18% rate increase was accurate, the official said, “It’s taking a little bit of liberty. It’s a bit of an exaggeration on their part….It’s more that they just submitted these rates to us, and we are aware of them.”
By email, the official confirmed, “the Department still retains the authority to object to aspects of the rate filing,” she wrote, referring to Trupanion’s filing.
TCR has included redacted written exchanges with New York DFS et al. after the conclusion of our reporting.
After USA Today reported, falsely, that Elanco had covered up adverse event reports and withheld them from regulators, rather than issue a correction, Mr. Hettinger and USA Today simply deleted the story’s most significant paragraph. In fact, there was even a “Why This Story Matters” graphic, also removed.
It was an egregious enough violation of the company’s own corrections policy to warrant an FYI to Newsguard, a fact-checking company. Fortunately for Gannett, this reporter’s father is Newsguard’s co-CEO- -and because of that, Newsguard determined that the risk for perception of conflict outweighed the need for them to downgrade Gannett’s rating, at least for now. However, TCR’s reporting shows what now amounts to more than two years of egregious violations of the most basic journalism standards. Note: This is a great newstip for a media reporter.
Late last month, veterinary hospital industry disruptor David Bessler hosted more than 200 veterinary students and recent graduates for a […]
Last Friday, we reported that pet health insurer Petplan — now rebranded as “Fetch by the Dodo” to reflect its new partnership with The Dodo, the animal-loving viral video blog – had started rolling out an exclusion in its policy that slashes coverage options for veterinary professionals. Now we can report that the insurer explained the move by declaring veterinary professionals a “moral hazard/fraud [risk]” in the cover letter of the filing we reported last week.
Why Would Petplan Slash Coverage For Veterinary Professionals?
Are veterinary professionals not the people a pet insurance provider would want on its good side for client referrals? Actuary data shows that veterinary professionals tend to adopt “what we consider ‘lemons’ as their companions,” explained Margi Tooth, the President of Trupanion, a Petplan competitor which does not have the same exclusion. “What this inevitably means,” she added, “is that their pets have a higher rate of utilization that the average pet owner. There’s no conspiracy here – it’s a profession that can’t face putting a pet to sleep that could be saved – so when an owner walks in with a sick pet that they can’t afford to treat, they’re often adopted by the team in the hospital. These folks are heroes on many levels.”
“I’m angry, my vet is angry. I’ve been angry…”
“I wish I had the confidence to believe [the FDA is] taking this seriously and working diligently to get to the bottom of the issue….”
“The FDA’s tepid warnings regarding DCM were insufficient to warn me and the hundreds of thousands of other dog owners whose dogs are now dying…”
Nationwide is cutting its losses–literally. The company’s 90%-reimbursement, unlimited pet insurance offering has been deep-sixed, spokeswoman Karen Davis confirmed to TCR. The genesis of the decision, although seemingly crystallized in recent company statutory filings with state insurance regulators (see below), is not something Nationwide CEO Kirt Walker would comment on. Now, consumers can take their pick between 50% or 70% reimbursement levels. And, they can take the $10,000 annual limit whether they like it or not.