Pethealth just announced "a strategic alliance agreement with USA Managed Care Organization, Inc., dba USA Pet Health Network, ("USA MCO"), the largest privately held self-developed Preferred Provider Organization in America. "
The idea is that they'll offer managed care services to U.S. pet owners for their dogs and cats. It's a bit odd since USA MCO is managed care for humans, not pets, so they'll be starting a veterinary network from scratch, which is no small feat.
Many vets I've spoken to are a bit leery of pet insurance just because they have seen what has happened to human medicine and insurance and the control the insurance companies have over the billing. Managed care for pets jumps right in that direction.
Midwest Pet, based in Wisconsin, was the only other company that we've seen sell policies using a preferred provider model but it failed when it could not develop the network needed to entice pet parents to sign up. I would think that an organization like USA MCO will do a much better job of that side of things.
I wonder what veterinarians will think about joining a network where their billing is controlled?
I wonder what pet parents will think about having to go to only those veterinarians in the network? Would they be interested if veterinary costs were lower than elsewhere?
What do you think?
