Cat dies; owner still must pay Banfield

link doesn't work - have to be signed in - can you copy/paste the article?

That would be a copyright violation, and therefore against site rules.

ok, but then no one can read it

I have to defend Banfield. They tell you up front and it's in the contract that you still have to pay if your pet dies. The reason? You're only paying $11-27/month and the hospital has already given hundreds of dollars worth of health care. Basically you are just spreading out your regular well care vet expenses over a year and getting a big discount for doing it. For example: I started Maxx on the 21/month plan last week. His first visit he got all his immunizations, dewormed, full exam, ear cleaning and a little butt trim and anal gland expression. If I had to pay for this up front, it would have been a hefty amount equal to or more then what I'll end up paying all year total. Next weekend he's also getting his teeth cleaned, which is included in the plan. That alone is worth a few hundered dollars and includes all the pre-lab tests and anesthetic. If he died (God forbid) 2 days later, Banfield would have already performed about $500 worth of services and I would have only paid $21. You get your money's worth the first visit. Really, if you got your cat all it's vaccinations, teeth cleaned, dewormed, had several vet visits, kidney, pancreas, liver screening and charged it; you'd still have to finish paying for it if your kitty died. So honestly, I totally understand why I would still have to pay if my pet died and it's not atrocious at all. It's a WELLNESS plan and is not insurance. They state that up front. It was explained to me several times. It is an affordable way for people to get the well care their pet needs and not have to pay for it up front. I think it's great and plan on signing Peaches up this week! They also get unlimited free office visits; kidney, liver, thryroid, pancreas screenings yearly and a lot of other "well" benefits. Then if one of my cats does get sick, the office visit is free and anything not already covered in the wellness plan is 15% off.

It is SO irritating when newspapers make you sign up to read their stupid newspaper on-line. I won't do it.

The LA Times has a "free read" article that I think might be the same story.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...ities-business

That was a good article that does a good job of explaining things I esp. like the fact that the journalist also spoke with a rep of VPI pet insurance and that their company is covered by the Dept. of Insurance. That's important for people & pets alike - when I was shopping for health insurance, I called CA DoI and they explained that I needed to find a company that was covered by them (BlueCross & the others were "managed care providers" and are overseen by Dept. of Corporations). Gotta read that fine print

Well, Banfield's wellness plan is NOT insurance! And all 3 times over the past 2 years I checked into it they made that very clear. Part of what is not clear in that article is that VPI does have a wellness plan but it is in addition to an insurance premium. I'm not saying that's bad. But it's not necessarily better either. VPI's best wellness rider is something like $27/month in addition to an insurance premium and it only covers (for example) $100 of teeth cleaning so you still have to pay around $200 out of pocket. Banfield's covers 100% of the teethcleaning including labs prior and anesthetic. VPI only covers a small amount for one vaccination of your choice (one of the plans I looked at covered $35). Banfield's wellness covers 100 % of all vaccinations. Those are just a few examples. And in Banfields brochure it says clearly that if you are concerned about catasrophic illness or accident, you need to purchase an insurance plan (such as VPI). I'm sorry, but this was all clearly explained verbally and in the brochure. And it was not fine print. It was very legible and clear. I"m not saying Banfield's wellness plan is perfect or for everyone. But it is not what that article makes it out to be either.

Please excuse any mispelling etc... I'm a bit doped up at the moment!

I have to say ... Mom and I spent over 500 on Kandies last 36 hours ... NOT one bit of that money did we regret spending thou she died

I understand. I put out thousands on Jake the last 2 years and he was worth every penny.

It is very clear in the brochure that is is not insurance. I have the brochure!

Yes, you can cancel your gym membership if you die. But you haven't already gotten a years worth of services rendered. You wouldn't take your mother to a hospital, (for example) have her spend a week in intensive care and (god forbid) she dies and you don't pay. Someone is still responsible to pay that hospital bill. It's the same concept.

Just thought I'd pass this link on. It's Banfield's site and it describes the wellness plan. It looks exactly like the brochure I have. In the thrid paragraph called COST-EFFECTIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE it clearly says their wellness plan is not an insurance plan. Exactly as it does in the brochure.

http://www.banfield.net/health/owp.asp

Ok, I think from the posts, I'd have to side with Banfield on this. Wouldn't it be more/less the same thing as you paying health insurance and going in the hospital for surgery - you die during surgery. The insurance/bill would still have to be paid for the services rendered by the hospital.

the way i see it, If the doctor and hospital wants there money , then yep they better save her life. if you take you car to get it fixed, do you pay them if its still broken?

if you want paid fix whats broken.

is says
substantial discounts on other veterinary services did the person get those?
it sure reads like a insurance plan.

sue them for false adds

But if you have (for instance) a bone marrow transplant, then develop graft versus host disease, the hospital still performed the expensive procedure, and while it's sad it didn't work, it's not their fault and they presumably did everything they could.
Or should doctors/vets etc not be paid if the patient dies despite their best efforts?

That's a totally absurd agrument. Health care can't be compared with fixing a car. In health care, things are still going to be beyond human control. And to answer your question, YES! You will still be legally responsible to pay mama's hospital bill even if the doctor is unable to save her! If someone had cancer, was treated and 6 months later the cancer came back, the bill for all the first treatment would still have to be paid. And yes, the cat owner in the article did get his discount. It says so in the article if you read it.

This is the first paragraph on that site:

"Cat Health: Health Issues
\tBanfield Optimum Wellness Plans® aim to help your Pet live 25% longer through affordable preventive care.
\tPreventive care is medicine that goes beyond treating illness to eliminate problems before they happen."

Ummm that doesn't even fit the definition of insurance. The following is Miriam Websters definition of Health insurance:

" health insurance
Function:
noun
Date:
1901

: insurance against loss through illness of the insured; especially : insurance providing compensation for medical expenses"

A wellness plan does not fit that definition and Banfield readily admits that. And both the web site and the brochure say Wellness Plan in big bold letters! Not to mention the third paragraph where it distinctly says their Wellness plan is NOT insurance.

your paying for a service, that was not given, they did not DO THERE JOB.
IF THEY WANT PAID THEY NEED TO FIX THE ISSUES

if they want to run health care in this country like a business then i will treat them as such. which is you dont do what your getting paid for you dont get paid.

my father and me , and my sister and the insurance company over 2 million for my mother and she died, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i dont think anymoney should be paid to a business that failed there job.

end of story.

the ADD is misleading it is trying to make people think they are a pet insurance. sue them

Totally ridiculous! In fact laughable! Well now we're showing true colors! They DID get what they paid for. A wellness plan doesn't fix illnesses and accidents. It provides vaccinations, lab tests, teeth cleaning and WELL visits. Most of those things are provided the first few visits and this person did get those things. END OF STORY!

what is laughable, that my mother died?
that over 2 million was spent?
If you think its ok to pay for a service that was not given,
to bad, my computer company does not have your support contract.

they want to run health care like a business, but we seem to expect a different set of rules for them, wrong.

You know damn well that isn't what I meant. As of now you're not even being logical. You're just picking a fight and I refuse to buy into it! I've stated a reasonable argument and that's that!

It also clearly states:

I really wish I had signed up for the Banfield wellness plan on my first vist there! On their bills it tells you how much you would have saved each visit, so far I would have "saved" well over $300 in the month that I have been going there, less than the cost of the year. Unfortunatly I'm not happy with the vet there and will be changeing ASAP.

Sure i am, i dont believe that people or a business that fails should get paid.

In the ad, although it states that they are NOT offering insurance, it does not make it clear that they are offering a contract much like a cell-phone. the only info regarding possible termination is that the policy is transferrable at over 300 Banfield hospitals nationwide.
However, I guess that we would need to see the contract to see how the information that the contract plan will last for X amount of months is presented.
IMO, the plan should have been transferrable to a new pet - C'mon Banfield - where's your PR department??

This happened long ago and maybe doesn't apply in today's leaner, crueler world, but I have had vets drop charges for cats that have died while under their treatment.

That's what Banfield should have done, too. Nobody's going to feel good about a group that puts money above the pet owner's feelings. Who would ever want to do business with them again? The bad feelings would always be there.

It wasn't such a huge amount.

Oh my.. I wouldn't regret a thing. Banfield is one of the most over-priced consumer rip offs out there. They charge like there is no tomorrow on their clients. They do the "see what you could have saved" receipt to make you feel bad. They do the same for the people on their wellness plan to justify why the person signed up for that crap in the first place.

I saw a receipt from them once ( I see a lot because people have to show me proof of rabies) they will not neuter a dog under six months, HOWEVER! They sure will charge you an "over six month" Neuter/spay fee! In the amount of 100 dollars, that's taxed on to your already over priced bill.

As far as the subject at hand. The woman shouldn't have to pay. The cats dead, and if Banfield actually wanted to see repeat business they would drop it.

If you die, I doubt you would be cancelling your gym membership or anything else for that matter but as was also stated, you only received what you paid for to date - not all the facilities and workouts for the whole year so you're really trying to compare apples with oranges.

This statement doesn't even make sense to me - not even comparing apples and oranges IMO.