Articles from Veterinary Newsletter

Pets Best Rolls Out New Web Pages for Veterinarians

Angela Klein — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You Asked. We Listened!

These are exciting times at Pets Best! To keep up with our record growth, we have redesigned our web pages to better meet your needs.

See for yourself at www.petsbest.com/veterinarians

Specifically designed with you in mind, on the new web pages you can:

Request or Download an Information Kit
Order or Re-order Pets Best brochures
Sign up for the Pets Best Veterinary Newsletter
Learn More About Staff Trainings
Find Out How StaffBest Can Save You Money

Be sure to check out our new brochure that we've enclosed and order more online or by phone today!

You know that having pet insurance means that your clients are financially prepared and able to say yes to the best veterinary care and treatments available. Share the good news!

Go online to www.petsbest.com/vets and see how easy it is to share Pets Best with your clients.

Want to Learn More? We Make It Easy!

Join a Pets Best Webinar and get all your questions answered in a 30-minute interactive presentation. Learn more about pet insurance and why Pets Best truly is simply the best pet insurance available today.

Based on your feedback, we've expanded our Webinar offerings. Now you can pre-register for a Webinar at a time that's most convenient for you and your staff.

All you need to join is a high-speed Internet connection and a speaker phone.

Choose the date and time that works best for you
Log in to your webinar online at gotowebinar.com 5 - 10 minutes before your scheduled time
Call into the conference line (1-877-661-9832)
Enter your I.D. number (83301)
Enjoy your presentation!

Every Webinar has a question-and-answer session at the end to make sure your questions are covered. Register for your Webinar and you'll even be sent a reminder the day and hour before to remind you.

Learn more and have fun at the same time!

Go online to www.petsbest.com/veterinarians to learn more about staff training opportunities through Pets Best Webinars. Or call us at 1-877-738-7237 ext. 4. We'd love to hear from you!

StaffBestT

Jennifer Jones — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Staffbest™ - add value for your hospital, your staff and their pets

Thinking about offering a valuable incentive for your employees where you can also reap the rewards? Let Pets Best Insurance help.

Here at Pets Best we not only offer coverage to your clients, but we offer coverage for staff pets through our StaffBestTM program. When you enroll your hospital as a group you will receive a 20% discount* off your monthly premiums. This program can be a great cost effective way of offering care to your staff's pets in lieu of giving away services.
(*Discounts not available in all states.)

Take a look at how StaffBest™ can benefit your employees as well as your practice.

No longer discount the cost of veterinary care at your hospital. You can now offer your full range of services at your normal rates and your employees can benefit from our quick 80% claim reimbursement and ease of use.
You and your employees will have access to emergency care, specialists, and referral services while still having the peace of mind knowing you can receive 80% back, after the deductible.
StaffBest™ can be tailored to fit any hospital. You decide how many pets to enroll, which plan you'd like, and which payment option works best.

Our StaffBest™ program is one of our most valued incentives that we offer veterinary hospitals. Not only are you building a better rapport with your staff, but you can also save money by choosing to enroll your staff with Pets Best Insurance. This creates a "win-win" situation for both your hospital and your staff.

If you would like to receive a quote or have questions, please call our Veterinary Services Department at 1.877.738.7237 ext. 4 or email us at vetservices@petsbest.com

Insurance and Pre-Existing Conditions

Angela Klein — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

PETS BEST INSURANCE & PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS:
A paw's on reference to understanding our policy

At Pets Best Insurance we strive to fully educate Veterinary Associate Providers on our policies. Part of this commitment involves explaining what Pets Best considers as pre-existing. One of the questions we hear most often is: What about pre-existing conditions?

A pre-existing condition is one that was present prior to the original policy effective date or within the waiting period, whether diagnosed or not.

Unfortunately, many pet owners wait until an illness or accident occurs to purchase their policies, which means that those injuries and illnesses cannot be covered. This is why we encourage purchasing insurance as soon as possible, ideally when pets are puppies and kittens.

The following are a few examples to show how our policies work:

If pet has an accident, such as a broken leg, prior to the effective policy start date, that particular broken leg would not be covered. If the pet breaks any leg again three months later it will be considered a separate incident and will be covered at 80% of the bill, after the deductible has been met.
Potentially fatal or debilitating chronic conditions restrict a pet's eligibility to enroll in a full medical plan. For example, if an uninsured six-year-old boxer develops lymphoma or diabetes before enrolling in a plan, those conditions would not be covered and that pet would not be eligible for full illness coverage. However, we would be able to provide accident-only coverage as this plan is available to any pet, regardless of past medical history.

We understand that there may be negative connotations towards the term "pre-existing condition." Let us reassure you that no matter the pre-existing illness we are always happy to offer our full accident coverage.

If you have additional questions or need further explanation on this or other items, please feel free to contact our Veterinary Services Department at 877-738-7237 x4 or email us at vetservices@petsbest.com. We appreciate your continued support and thank you for choosing Pets Best!

Preventing Managed Care

Jack Stephens — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

THE FEAR FACTOR - PET INSURANCE NEED NOT REPEAT HUMAN HEALTH CARE PRACTICES

We have all heard the medical profession lament the concept of managed care as an intrusion into the way they practice and the way it has taken much of the enjoyment out of practicing medicine. But if one looks back to those early days when decisions were being made, the medical profession basically did not become involved in that decision-making process.

They practiced medicine and left the financing of their services to others. Of course, managed care in the medical field has not been all bad; it has increased access and the level of care to and for more people. Overall, it has been rejected as a concept that has more flaws than benefits. As we look to this model, we have to ask ourselves: What is it that we want and do not want for pets, pet owners, and our profession?

Since 1982, I have railed against managed care principles in pet health insurance. Yet most of my colleagues are still not sure what managed care in veterinary medicine is, other than "setting of fees and taking away decisions."

In an effort to clarify how to recognize managed care, what to avoid and most of all how the profession can control our destiny, I have devoted this editorial piece to managed care principles, how to avoid them and how pet insurance can benefit pets, pet owners and practices, without managed care ever taking hold. Much more could and will be said on the subject in articles, journals and later newsletters.

As a profession, we can have control of how we practice and avoid the pitfalls that have happened to the medical profession.

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGED CARE - GOOD REASON FOR CAUTION

Historically, managed care involves several key principles that include:

Setting of fees based on procedures, diagnosis and diagnostics
Taking decisions on diagnostics and treatment away from the treating doctor
Limiting choices by both the patient and doctor
Complicating the process with layers of bureaucracy in order to receive payment
Reducing or eliminating the out-of-pocket cost (co-payments and deductibles) to patients, thus eliminating their involvement in the financial decisions for care
Forcing doctors to join networks or accept lower fee schedules in return for higher patient loads
Patients restricted to the level of care provided for in the networks and receive no benefits - or greatly restricted benefits - if care is sought outside the network, except in emergencies
The doctor-patient relationship is virtually eliminated

Doctors in a managed-care environment are not inclined to have a strong doctor-patient relationship. Patients are chosen for them.

Non-managed care physicians and veterinarians, on the other hand, must please their clients. They must communicate, not rush, fully explain options and basically have a good beside or "table side" manner to be successful. If not, clients will go down the street.

In managed care, the patient is forced to visit the network in order to be covered. The patient load is dictated by others, not by experience or quality of care. At the risk of alienating my physician colleagues, the managed care system forces an almost assembly-line mentality to care. Human healthcare hospitals only started becoming more compassionate with better quality of care and services when they had to compete with other hospitals in order to increase profits.

Much more can be stated, but again, no veterinarian with whom I have spoken in over 25 years wanted managed care for our profession that dictates how we deliver care.

SO WHAT DO CLIENTS AND VETERINARIANS WANT?

Clients Want:

To choose their own veterinarian
Insurance that is easy-to-understand and provides high reimbursements
Fast claims payments with no hassle
Comprehensive policies that allow for routine care
Few exclusions/limitations

Veterinarians Want:

Choice: The ability for the client and treating doctor to determine the level of care
Little or no paperwork in filing of claims
No schedule of fees or benefits dictating or implying what to charge
No restrictions on diagnostics; allow the treating doctor to determine what is necessary, based on the situation
Ability for clients to freely choose where to take their pet for care, including specialists
No complicated payment method or restrictions on how care is provided
Freedom to set fees to suit the style and overhead of the practice
No third party dictating the quality of care
No third party overruling treatment decisions of the treating doctor by disallowing or limiting benefits

HOW CAN WE PREVENT MANAGED CARE?

Don't join networks, PPOs or other schemes that are predicated on bringing you more clients. Controlling the client's choice of choosing their pet's veterinarian must be avoided, as this is the number one tenet of managed care! If we only had one thing to avoid, it would be this.
Don't provide discounts to groups for increased business. Keep discounts or free care to your individual choice.
Set your own fees and avoid fee and benefit schedules. If a large portion of your fees are not reimbursed it makes you look like you are overcharging.
Don't accept third parties (companies) telling you how to practice, setting procedures, fees or level of care to provide.
Don't recommend companies that do not meet your standards, or restrict care due to the age of the pet.

OUR BRAND & PROMISE

Pets Best Insurance was launched in October 2005, to simplify how pet insurance reimburses pet owners. It was apparent that a straightforward 80% reimbursement of what the veterinarian charged for services was necessary. Veterinary medicine had changed, and changing how pet insurance operates had to happen! The level of care had risen dramatically for pets due to the rapid progression of the human-animal bond, access to specialists, and multiple-doctor practices.

When I first established the category of pet health insurance in 1980, I had three goals. The first was to provide a method for pet owners to have peace of mind; second, the ability to budget for unexpected pet health care cost; and third, to be certain that the managed care principles that so plague human medicine do not take root in our profession.

When I founded Pets Best, some twenty-five years later, I wanted to improve the industry I created and to leave a better legacy of pet insurance as being relevant and advantageous for pets, pet owners and veterinarians.

WHAT MORE CAN YOU DO?

When advising your clients of pet insurance options, make sure to recommend a company that is a member of the newly formed North American Pet Health Insurance Association. (Visit www.naphia.org for more information.) Membership standards disallow the most prominent managed-care principles. Standards are set and enforced for high levels of service, turn-around time on reimbursements, dispute resolution and independent third-party rating of member performance after a claim. For pet insurance to prosper, pet owners must know with clarity and certainty how much pet insurance will cover of the actual veterinary cost.

PET INSURANCE IS HERE TO STAY

Pet Health insurance is now nearing $300 million in annual revenues and forecasted to reach over $1.2 billion by 2012. With all the new, very large and well financed companies now entering the field, it will only grow, because there is a financial need for pet owners who want to afford the increasing cost of unexpected pet accidents, illness or trauma. Attempting to simply ignore this rapid growth of pet insurance will not be a viable response by the veterinary profession if it wishes to avoid the many pitfalls of veterinary managed care.

In closing, the veterinary profession must be involved to guide and influence the pet health insurance industry. If we do, I know I will have left a legacy that truly enhances the delivery of veterinary care for pets.

Jack L. Stephens, DVM
President/Founder
Pets Best Insurance

StaffBest: Providing a Simplified Staff Discount Plan for Veterinary Hospitals

Jennifer Jones — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Johnson, a certified veterinary practice manager with Pampered Pet Health Center in Port Charlotte, Fla., recognized the value of pet insurance, she just didn't realize that anyone in her office would use it as quickly as they did.

"One of our staff members had only had the policy for 3 weeks when her pet had grease in her eye and ended up getting an ulcer and needed corneal debridement, 80% of which was covered by Pets Best," she said.

"With Pets Best Insurance, we know what the benefit will be and there is no guesswork involved, which is one of the reasons why we have our staff enrolled in their plans."

More and more hospital employees are learning what Christy already knows: that having insurance can be a life-saver. Hospitals that enroll five or more pets as a group receive a 20%* discount off monthly premiums.

If you are a veterinarian or hospital administrator, take a look at how StaffBest can benefit your employees as well as your practice:

No longer discount the cost of veterinary care at your hospital. You can offer your full range of services at your normal rates and your employees can benefit from our quick 80% claim reimbursement and ease of use.
You and your employees will have access to emergency care, specialists, and referral services while still having the peace of mind knowing you can receive 80% back, after the deductible.
StaffBest can be tailored to fit any hospital. You decide how many pets to enroll, which plan you'd like, and which payment option works best.

This benefit is a valuable incentive for your employees. If you would like to receive a quote or have questions, please call the Pets Best Veterinary Services Department at 1-877-738-7237 ext. 4 or email us at vetservices@petsbest.com.

* Discount not available in all states.

Webinars Offer Fun, Informative Learning Opportunities

Jennifer Jones — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Often, we hear people say that they don't quite know what pet insurance is, how it works, and what it does and doesn't cover. We understand!

To meet this need, we've worked to put together an interactive presentation over the web that will guide you and your hospital staff through the fundamentals of pet insurance and how Pets Best compares to the rest.

Of course, we will go over our specific plans here at Pets Best to help you better understand them and pass those benefits on to your clients.

All you need is an Internet connection - DSL or other high-speed connection is preferred - and a free hour to gather your staff for the web seminar and question-and-answer session that follows. (The actual presentation itself is around 30 minutes.)

Understanding pet insurance is the first key to being able to help pet owners understand how it works so that they can make an informed decision for their pets.

Advantages of a Pets Best Webinar

Better inform your staff of the benefits of pet insurance
Provides staff confidence in marketing pet insurance to clients on a regular basis
Provides a fun, interactive way to learn why Pets Best is a better alternative to other pet insurance companies

Learn more about signing up for a webinar by calling Pets Best Veterinary Services at 1-877-738-7237 (877-PETSBEST) ext. 4 or by emailing vetservices@petsbest.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!