The pet health care crisis

[waffleironhead]

Gee, prices go through the roof in correlation to the introduction of insurance....

We haven't seen this before, have we? :hmm:

I think prices have gone thru the roof with the rise of online pharmacies and the like. If the vet need to make a certain profit to stay in business and a large portion of their profit now goes to walmart and petmeds.com, they raise prices of services to make up the gap.

 

[Markbnj]

$380? Weird.

We took our dog to the vet because we suspected he was becoming diabetic. Vet tested his urine. Vet tested his blood. Confirmed. Vet kept him for a day to test his blood sugar every hour to help adjust how much insulin he needed. Vet ordered special food for us, with a "if he doesn't like it, bring it back and we'll refund you for the unused portion" - which they did. And the vet ordered another special type of food and sold it to us cheaper than I could purchase it anywhere else (including online).

And, my vet bill was well under $380.


Vet drove out to our farm a month or so ago - drew blood samples from 20 goats. Even with the house call, and the cost of sending all the blood samples to a lab elsewhere in the state (plus the costs of the tests), and the hour or so spent getting those samples... plus updated the rabies vaccine on two of our dogs - also less expensive than the OP's ear infection.

I don't have a vet who dishonestly charges $60 for having a dog step onto a scale, and calls it a "wellness check."

Yeah, welcome to North Jersey. Our dogs are generally healthy, get a lot of exercise, and don't interact with other dogs much, so we don't have to spend this kind of money on them often. But when you do go in they turn you upside down and shake you to empty your pockets.

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[Markbnj]

Basically this. It is the cost for establishing the relationship with the vet. The exam fee is there to pay for the vets knowledge. When you were in the room did you ask questions? Seek advice on diet, vaccines, etc?

I agree, that is what the fee is for. The answer to your specific question is no. I went there to get his ear treated and also catch him up on this year's vaccines. I didn't have any other questions or seek any other advice. The vet did examine him generally while he was on the table... but I feel like this is in the same category as your mechanic looking at the ball joints while doing the brakes, or something like that. There's enough profit built into the service you're actually paying for to compensate them for the courtesy check, and after all it might reveal more work they can do and charge you for.

I don't know much specifically about the business, but I have heard people say that animal hospitals are very profitable. The vaccines were about $60 apiece and I am sure that has a healthy markup. No labor at all there, really. The three scripts were around $20 apiece. That sounds reasonable for the antibiotic, but the ear drops and ear wash are probably marked up significantly.

The point being I think they make enough money off me without charging me another $60 bucks for the courtesy of checking the animal out while he is on the table. They charge it because they can. What am I going to do? Comparison shop vets? It's not worth it. So, in the end, I am complaining about something I am too lazy to do anything about. The very archetype of the first world problem.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Gee, prices go through the roof in correlation to the introduction of insurance....

We haven't seen this before, have we? :hmm:

Hasn't pet insurance been around for 25+ years?

 

[cbrunny]

Gee, prices go through the roof in correlation to the introduction of insurance....

We haven't seen this before, have we? :hmm:

I'm pretty sure pet insurance has been around for decades.

 

[highland145]

The first pet insurance policy was written in 1890 by Claes Virgin. Virgin was the founder of Länsförsäkrings Alliance, at that time he focused on horses and livestock.[citation needed] In 1947 the first pet insurance policy was sold in Britain.[1] As of 2009, Britain has the second-highest level of pet insurance in the world (23%),[2] behind only Sweden. In 1982, the first pet insurance policy was sold in the United States, and issued to television's Lassie by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI).[3]

 

[dullard]

Just find another vet.

When I going to get my frist cat from a relative, it already had a urinary tract infection. The relative took the cat to her vet and dropped the cat off (I was to pick up the cat from the vet). The relative was a police officer with a police dog and this was the vet that the police used, so they trusted the vet. The cat was diagnosed with a UTI, and the price quoted to me by the vet on the phone was going to be $75. By the time I drove the 30 minutes to the vet to pick up the cat, the vet had already done $500 of CT scans, x-rays, and other useless tests. None of the tests were approved by either of us and they had no purpose since the UTI was already diagnosed. I refused to pay the $500, paid $75, grabbed the cat and left.

A couple months later, the UTI developed again and I found a new vet in the same city. $20 total for the visit, diagnosis, and antibiotics. $575 vs $20. I never went back to that scam vet again. Over the years my new vet never charged more than $40 total regardless of the number of shots or treatment needed, and that sometimes included keeping the cat overnight.

By the way, never get a himalayan cat, they get UTIs all the time.

 

[vi edit]

I'm pretty sure pet insurance has been around for decades.

Around yes...pushed heavily...no. First major push in the US was in '97. By 2005 500k policies were underwritten. In 2009 it was over 1,000,000 policies. Prices went up over 40% since '06.

http://filofetch.com/history-of-pet-insurance/

http://image.slidesharecdn.com/sizz...-pet-industry-trends-12-638.jpg?cb=1379605203

http://static2.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4a5f6ad914b9b9cf0063078c

...Just saying

 

[BurnItDwn]

Our vet is pretty inexpensive. We are happy with them, they are insanely busy and don't do appointments, so it can suck to visit them (hours of waiting.)

 

[Perknose]

And, I think I suspect why vets are cheaper in my area - the vets realize we have realistic people. "It's going to cost $800 to fix your rabbits leg." "Oh, never mind. I like hasenpfeffer."

Yup. Vet prices where I live have risen because the old time vets have mostly retired and the newer ones are all about catering and marketing to the more well off, whom they know won't blink at their rates.

Additionally, vets now have all sorts of newer machines and procedures and have to amortize them all into their bills.

 

[Perknose]

In 1982, the first pet insurance policy was sold in the United States, and issued to television's Lassie by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI).[3]

Wow, right when I first became aware of it, having a Great Dane. I passed on it, but it was a real bargain at the time. I came to regret my choice, as my Dane subsequently got bone cancer and I spent thousands in 1980s dollars trying to save him.

 

[thedarkwolf]

We have a low cost non-profit vet nearby which is extremely cheap but they only do minor things and you might have to wait a month for an opening. Still it is great if you just need shots or are getting your pet fixed.

 

[OutHouse]

$380? Weird.

We took our dog to the vet because we suspected he was becoming diabetic. Vet tested his urine. Vet tested his blood. Confirmed. Vet kept him for a day to test his blood sugar every hour to help adjust how much insulin he needed. Vet ordered special food for us, with a "if he doesn't like it, bring it back and we'll refund you for the unused portion" - which they did. And the vet ordered another special type of food and sold it to us cheaper than I could purchase it anywhere else (including online).

And, my vet bill was well under $380.


Vet drove out to our farm a month or so ago - drew blood samples from 20 goats. Even with the house call, and the cost of sending all the blood samples to a lab elsewhere in the state (plus the costs of the tests), and the hour or so spent getting those samples... plus updated the rabies vaccine on two of our dogs - also less expensive than the OP's ear infection.

I don't have a vet who dishonestly charges $60 for having a dog step onto a scale, and calls it a "wellness check."

thats one hell of a farm call for Dr. Pol.

 

[Smoblikat]

#Ollamacare!!

 

[Phoenix86]

And, I think I suspect why vets are cheaper in my area - the vets realize we have realistic people. "It's going to cost $800 to fix your rabbits leg." "Oh, never mind. I like hasenpfeffer."

Yup.

You're in a rural area. Vets out there are a necessity, and they can't charge "every penny to save your precious animal" like they do with others. They know damned well a farmer treats animals like stock; it's almost as if there were a word for this, living-stock.

Costs:benefit ratio gets out of whack and the 0 cost 0 benefit option looks real good.

 

[Markbnj]

Yup.

You're in a rural area. Vets out there are a necessity, and they can't charge "every penny to save your precious animal" like they do with others. They know damned well a farmer treats animals like stock; it's almost as if there were a word for this, living-stock.

Costs:benefit ratio gets out of whack and the 0 cost 0 benefit option looks real good.

There are stories of people in suburban areas spending many thousands of dollars to cure a sick pet. I love my dogs, and I suppose I might do that if I were a rich guy, but I'm not, and I wouldn't.

 

[Ns1]

There are stories of people in suburban areas spending many thousands of dollars to cure a sick pet. I love my dogs, and I suppose I might do that if I were a rich guy, but I'm not, and I wouldn't.

I'm in dog rescue. It's not uncommon AT ALL.