FDA says Arrow Reliance Inc., maker of Darwin’s, is refusing to issue recall on salmonella contaminated pet food
FDA spokesperson Anne Norris alerted reporters late Wednesday afternoon to inform them that the agency was issuing an “advisory” in […]
News
Controversial veterinarian Jean Dodds Continues To Practice in California. She’s Never Been Licensed.
Jean Dodds is back in the spotlight. That’s because The Canine Review is reviving the deluge of public records […]
California vet industry leader lashes AVMA for “fearmongering” and ‘protectionist’ positions on telehealth legislation
“These organizations are stonewalling progress and innovation, and don’t have an answer to how we address veterinarian shortage [and] access to care issues,” he said. The AVMA’s chief veterinary officer Dr. Gail Golab did not respond to detailed requests seeking comment, nor did outgoing AVMA President Dr. Lori Teller, when asked about CVMA member Dr. Brian Evans’ characterization of the AVMA’s position on telemedicine as “protectionist” and “fearmongering.”
Trupanion’s pet food startup has disappeared without any SEC disclosures or public statements.
Trupanion’s pet food venture Landspath involved millions of dollars in start-up costs (insiders estimate total amount spent is north of […]
TCR Challenges FDA Over DCM Redactions, Refusal to Update Website
Today, Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed an appeal letter on behalf of TCR and Emily […]
Trupanion’s website is not working today, and that’s to be expected, according to a Trup employee
Trupanion launched a redesign of its website nearly two weeks ago, and it is not going well. Here’s a screen […]
Animal health giant Elanco declares blockbuster Seresto collars “vindicated” by recent EPA finding, but CEO continues to evade questions
Per Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) spokeswoman Colleen Dekker: “Finally vindicated,” Elanco’s spokeswoman Colleen Dekker told TCR late yesterday. She added: “EPA […]
Trupanion sues Maine insurance regulator
The suit hints at a larger, core challenge to Trupanion’s survival.
Trupanion’s complaint asserts:
“As of January 1, 2023-the effective date of the Maine Pet Insurance Act-the Bureau of Insurance has prohibited Trupanion and other pet insurance companies from deferring the effective date of policies issued in Maine. As a result, to avoid the anti-selection effect of certain consumers using the prohibition on waiting periods to obtain coverage for accidents that already occurred, Trupanion is requiring that consumers must have their pet examined by a veterinarian before the policy takes effect. Other insurers have largely pulled out of the market in Maine altogether including Nationwide, which along with Trupanion constitutes half the market share of the industry.”
With many more states set to enact similar laws starting January 1, 2024, this will inevitably draw attention to EDO’s. And, so, Maine seems to be the tip of an iceberg, with a larger battle looming for Trupanion, which would challenge the entire business model itself as more states pass similar legislation banning waiting periods and put Trupanion into an EDO-only revenue model, thereby putting the spotlight on the EDO and — its legality.
If territory partners (independently contracted local sales agents critical to Trupanion’s vet-centric business model) need to be licensed just to visit vet hospitals and educate vet professionals about pet insurance, how does Trupanion explain a system of relying upon vet hospital staff to introduce Trupanion and educate consumers about the EDO without being licensed?
A Journalism Pro Joins The Force: Welcome, Carly Nairn
San Francisco-based reporter Carly Nairn, a UC Berkeley J-School graduate, is the kind of ethical, mission-driven, journalist we’ve been looking […]
VIN News Recycles TCR’s ‘Moral Hazard Vets’ Insurance Reporting
It is a common practice in professional journalism that even competing news organizations credit each other as a matter of professional courtesy –unless one feels threatened by the other. In a three-part series of reports starting July 7, 2022, TCR offered coverage of Fetch By The Dodo (best known as Petplan but rebranded in light of its partnership with viral video animal blog The Dodo). The story was about its attempt to cut vet professionals out of coverage by declaring them a “moral hazard.” This led to our broader coverage of the issue at hand–the story VIN News has recycled and published one year later this week since our first story.