Medical Confidentiality with Pet Insurance

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I'm sure my situation is a fluke, but I'll let you know what happened just in case this happens to you or to urge you and your spouse to keep you information straight and corrected. 

Last week I called PetPlan because I had not heard from the regarding Spud's Insurance renewal. 

I had received PetPlans periodic newsletters, but no policy renewal.   The call operator told me, I was not the policy holder of Spud's account, therefore I could not make any changes, or inquire anything about the policy.  I was not on the account.  "Your husband will have to call us, make any changes, etc"

WHAAAAAAAAT?

I stopped fighting her and asked if I could just be told if the policy was near expiration? She told me no! No as in, " The policy is not about to expire"

I said I am sure the policy is close but can you tell me if it is due this week? Again, "NO"

I don't answer 800-numbers on my cell phone.  With Apple's iPhone upgrades I am no longer told I have pending voice mail, so I rarely check.  Today  I was shocked to find out, my  F.J.'s policy had expired on January 28th and they left me a few voice mails Friday and Saturday.

Typically they they just renew your account, but my credit card was hacked last February, so I was issued a new card and number.

Sorry-it is one complicated issue after another that made this all fail.

So, they have MY phone number ( not F.J.),  they had MY credit card name and number, not F.J., they have MY email, not F.J., but could not give me any information. 

So I totally did not follow-up as I just thought I would wait for the renewal email.  They claimed it went to email but I never received the email  They also could not tell me what that email address was.  So, I get a newsletter but no policy renewal?   I'll have to correct all that too.  My husband has to now call them to tell them the wife is allowed to inquire about her dog. Actually, a written FAX is in order. Ugh

Of course, they did take my $256.00 by credit card.  So, I can pay them, but I may not inquire about any information about my dog, F.J.'s Dog

PAID

 So, FYI, be sure your name and number are on the account if YOU are the one who will be doing any paperwork on the DOG.  It appears, dogs have confidential medical information now also.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

$256, holy moly, I guess I will get another huge hike next renewal since we live in the same area. I am still under that on my 3rd renewal. Isn't Spud 4 now?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes. Actually he has been with us four years this weekend. He is four years, 8.5 weeks. I paid 218.00 last year

[Jennifer and Jack]

What plan do you have, I am paying more then double for a younger dog! I had an 18 percent increase this year.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin is 4 and we have the bronze plan from PetPlan... we pay $230 per year...

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Jennifer,

I think I remember you having the Gold plan.  The one that pays for dog shelter in case you become ill. Right?  And that is a good one for you to have.  I did not get that plan.  I have the same as Camilla. 

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I had an issue with our gas company. I set the account up under his name. I also set up the payments, budget. When we had over $400 overpayment I asked to change the budget plan and they wouldn't let me. They said he had to make the decision. I said he did make it, I am calling to have it looked at, clearly you are taking too much if after the winter I still have over $400. She said sorry. Well DH NEVER makes calls from work so it went on and on. I called hoping to speak to someone reasonable, same bull. So I told that someone that I was not making another payment until it was 0 dollars, after 3 months they reevaluated the amount down to 1/2 of what I was paying. DH never called.

[F, Calla & Luca]

This is about when I write an email to the CEO or whatever they have at a gas comany and title it "Customer Disservice".

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Oh, I love that F. and I am going to use it.

By the way, all the Acana talk that was going on. I had written them about my vendor who was not going to honor the 13th bag free because I didn't get it within the year. (I didn't get it within the year because Champions fire kept them from getting bags as they were small and probably not priority), anyway I wrote Champion about the issue and they sent me a response within two days to send them my card and they would honor it themselves. That my friends IS Customer Service.

Meanwhile this squeaky wheel already resolved the issue with the manager and he gave me my free bag so I thanked the nice lady at Champion and told her that I expected nothing less from such a great company but I didn't need the bag after all.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Hey that is great! I don't get the free bag cause I get mine on line and it is not available. But today I did another big order and saved 25%. You do have to squeak.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's a crazy world we live in.  I think everyone is just trying to "cover their butt".  My husband dropped off my son's laptop at the Apple store for repair and two days later I went to pick it up.  They would not release it to me...only to my husband.  Apparently the "data" on the laptop was the issue....privacy protection taken to a bit of an extreme IMO.

[BG and Gavin]

Here is a privacy breech story for you:  There was a very tragic and gruesome murder in our small city.  Some of the hospital staff (call it morbid curiosity) accessed hospital records related to the people involved.  The end result?  17 staff members were fired last week.  I say "bravo."  I worked at a job where I had access to tons of confidential information about the personal lives of many others.   There were rules in place that you only accessed info that was pertinent to the individuals you worked with.  This provided assurance that if your next door neighbour accessed services at the agency you were not to go snooping around to find out what their situation was.  People need to be confident that their particular situation is not going to be water cooler fodder at the agency.  Not sure if it is a sign of the times or not, but with social media and people freely sharing more than ever, I think there is a sense of "entitlement" to information lately.  I even find that people are less hesitant to ask very personal questions.  What happened to "None of your damn business?"

[F, Calla & Luca]

Having been in the same situation for decades I agree. Some things demand full privacy protection for sure.and medical records are most certainly one if them. I worry too about all the folks who are sharing things they should not on the Internet. In one way or another, they never go away.