Why are vet bills so high now ??
Question:
There’s upward cost pressure from pet health insurance, which is part of an instability that you get with health insurance that benefits the insurer. It drives the usage of services up, which raises the price; and raising the price increases the need for insurance to cover it among those who otherwise would not want it. Today it’s a crisis if a person doesn’t have health insurance, where nobody had it before 1950, and nobody needed it, because absent insurance no doctor can stay in business charging more than people can afford to pay. The insurance industry is happier with larger claims, contrary to what you’d expect; they make more money on higher claims because they produce higher premiums and a greater need for insurance. — Ron Hardin On the internet, nobody knows you’re a jerk.
Response:
> Why are vet bills so outrageously high? I remember back in the sixties, > seventies and eighties as a kid growing up and as a young adult that the > Vet bills for our various dogs were never that out of range as they are > now. I remember when one of our dogs needed to be kept overnight for > observation there was no extra charge for the overnight stay. Now, my > neighbor’s dog was kept overnight for an infection and the bill was over > $750. The same thing happened to me about 4 years ago when my dog had a > bad reaction to a medication the vet gave her even though he knew she > was sensitive to it. They kept her overnight and tried to charge me over > $1000 for their mistake. I was looking at some old receipts and I paid > $50 for a teeth cleaning in 1985. Just this month I paid $394 for a > teeth cleaning from the same vet office!
In 1985 I used to be able to buy a pack of cigarettes for under a buck. Now I believe they run around 5 bucks a pack (its been awhile…..I quit!). Everything is more expensive. Another reason vets are charging more, though is that there have been HUGE advances in veterinary medicine in the last 15 years. Proceedures that weren’t possible are more routine now. The equipment, the expertise, and even the malpractice that goes along with all this is more expensive for the vet…..and that gets passed down to the clients. My own vet is totaly freakin’ expensive……and I love him to death! The good news is that the world of veterinary medicine has been catching up to the quality of human medicine….the bad news is that the costs are also (naturally) going to catch up as well. Tara
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>I just paid $74.20 for Frontline for my 75 pound Lab mix. >Expensive….absolutely.
I too am glad I bumped into Frontline and also Program on Ebay. As I said, my vet charged me $51. for the 3 dose box for small dogs! On Ebay I got it for $18. The cheapest one I got was from a seller called "bobvet". I sent a link to one of his current auctions on ebay. You can email him to see if he sells to larger dogs as well. Watch for the "Pay Now" auctions and you’ll see their bottom line prices.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2007490120
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>a thousand dollars worth of disks there, >but complained at the price of soda pop in the airport. I had to agree with
Steve, your comparison story reminded me of my early reaction to life in Palm Springs after spending most of my adult years living in sleepy little villages on Hawaiian north shores. I was literally stunned at the excess consumer spending here in on the mainland. Every garage I saw open was stuffed with things bought, unused and yet stored. Every kid my son met had every gadget, toy and trendy garment marketed or sold. In no time my son began to suspect he was neglected and even poor. Kids in middle school asked for spending money on Saturday afternoon and parents handed them 2 twenties or even more. I tried to explain the distortions of priorities but he was young and I mostly backed off and hoped he would find his way back to the solid, good sense of island life and all that it means. Now, my son is in his early twenties. He lives on his own and worked it all out without filtering the big lessons first through my own lips or experience. Now, as he keeps his balance and works for things like freedom and time, his friends are already deeply entrenched in credit card debts and buried in things that are not treasures at all. In the long run the things that matter will ALWAYS matter. Health…health even for dogs who have brought ME more love and compassion and company and laughs than any human ever has. Ask me what I’d pay to have an old friend named "Lucky" back for a day. If I could speak through the tears I’d say…"That little dog was worth EVERYTHING…and then more." For an hour more, for a minute more of time long gone, of a turn long lost…I’d…well…I’d give my last dime. Sorry to rant. I do that from time to time. For those that find my ramblings too hard to endure…there is killfile (:
Response:
I just paid $74.20 for Frontline for my 75 pound Lab mix. Expensive….absolutely. The only good thing about it, is that it’s for a 6-pak and I get the 7th dosage for free…..still $10.60 an application. Geeeez! Until I read the previous post, I had no idea that it could be bought via Ebay. Maybe I’ll check into that. I even thought of buying via the TV – the Petmeds thing, I think it was. After calling them and getting prices and doing the math, their prices were only 32 cents cheaper a dosage…big deal. I love my Vet and he has been the only Vet that my cat and dog have ever known and he’s 1 1/2 miles from home if there’s an emergency and I wouldn’t want to change that. But I do think that my guys meds are way to costly. But the bottom line is, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe and protect them, if I can’t find their meds cheaper anywhere else. JakesMom
Response:
A good general policy: buy from your vet any meds that he has to stock on speculation that somebody might need it, say in an emergency or for a temporary condition or to find the right meds for some mysterious condition or another. Buy elsewhere things that the dog predictably needs, like heartworm and flea medication. If the vet is using his regular markup on these then he’s taking advantage of you, or perhaps a better way to say it is that you’re handing him money for nothing but a little convenience in return. But don’t begrudge him antibiotics and the like. — Ron Hardin On the internet, nobody knows you’re a jerk.
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KauilaPolu, ROFLOL. I was stuck in the Ketchikan Alaska airport last week due to weather conditions. Sitting next to me waiting for the flight was a young man with his portable cd player and headphones. He dragged a case out of his backpack that was the size of a 4 inch three ring binder. Inside it were pages and pages of cd’s, four to a page, front and back. There must have been 50 pages. All of them were original cd’s, none of them were copied. It occurred to me that he had to have a thousand dollars worth of disks there, but complained at the price of soda pop in the airport. I had to agree with
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Why would you expect vet >bills to stay the same as they were in 1985 when everything the vet buys, >labor bills he pays, the electricity bill, insurance bills, rent property >taxes, federal income taxes, and everything else has gone up incrementally > You are right Steve. And just look around in the average family’s > garage…you’ll see stacks and STACKS of high end expensive ‘toys’ being parked > or unused. I don’t have to look far to see young families dumping a hundred > bucks on dinner or dvd’s or just a week-ends worth of random spending that > won’t even be duly noted (except for the fact that most of us start out on > Friday with that hundred dollar bill and come Sunday…IT’S gone. > these guys are worth the expense it takes to keep them healthy and well.
Response:
I don’t know of "ANY" rich vets. All the vets that I know live in very ordinary to substandard housing. Their money goes into their practices so they can offer a new service. My vet is STILL paying off his college bills. He can’t afford to pay his employees decent benefits or wages, although he would like to. He has a huge amount of clients that he knows will never pay their bills, and then there are clients like me, who WILL, but it’s going to be a long time before he sees the bill paid in full. I have a HUGE vet bill, but I never accused my vet of being greedy or getting rich over his practice.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Why are vet bills so outrageously high? I remember back in the sixties, > seventies and eighties as a kid growing up and as a young adult that the > Vet bills for our various dogs were never that out of range as they are > now. I remember when one of our dogs needed to be kept overnight for > observation there was no extra charge for the overnight stay. Now, my > neighbor’s dog was kept overnight for an infection and the bill was over > $750. The same thing happened to me about 4 years ago when my dog had a > bad reaction to a medication the vet gave her even though he knew she > was sensitive to it. They kept her overnight and tried to charge me over > $1000 for their mistake. I was looking at some old receipts and I paid > $50 for a teeth cleaning in 1985. Just this month I paid $394 for a > teeth cleaning from the same vet office! > In 1985 I used to be able to buy a pack of cigarettes for under a buck. > Now I believe they run around 5 bucks a pack (its been awhile…..I > quit!). Everything is more expensive. > Another reason vets are charging more, though is that there have been > HUGE advances in veterinary medicine in the last 15 years. Proceedures > that weren’t possible are more routine now. The equipment, the > expertise, and even the malpractice that goes along with all this is > more expensive for the vet…..and that gets passed down to the clients. > My own vet is totaly freakin’ expensive……and I love him to death! > The good news is that the world of veterinary medicine has been catching > up to the quality of human medicine….the bad news is that the costs > are also (naturally) going to catch up as well. > Tara
That’s all true but there seems to be more greed out there as there is everywhere else. A friend of the family is a veterinary dentist as well as a human dentist. He works with several vet’s offices and has all of these horror stories about what these offices charge people that they know can’t afford it. When this happens involving his dental work he deducts his bill. I grew up with a vet living in our neighborhood and his office was just a couple of blocks away. We used to bring in birds with broken wings and snakes that had been run over and stray kittens. He took care of all of them and never charged a penny. That would never go on today. My currant vet is very resonable. He is highly sought out for terminal cases and he sometimes works miracles. I asked him why he is so cheap and everyone else is so expensive. He said they have to pay for all the unnesseccery equipment they have and have to use it to justify buying it. He said a lot of them are just greedy. Most people don’t have pet health insurance and have to wind up put an animal down over an illness that 20 years ago would have been affordable to treat.
Response:
It is definitely based on where you live. I’m in Charlottesville, VA and the bills are pretty much medium leveled. Go to one of the vets in the neighboring counties where thay see a lot of farm animals, etc. the prices aren’t as high. Go down to Tennessee to one of the country vets and the price gets even cheaper. I’m sure it is much higher elsewhere in the country. We had a bone marrow aspiration done a couple of months ago in which Bear was knocked out. That +antibiotics+pain meds were around $200. Oh well, my vets are great here. When Bear was going through the above testing fot his cancer, the test had to be postponed because my (very pregnant) vet fell and sprained her wrist badly. Besides the call cancelling the appointment from the clinic, she called later to apologize for postponing the procedure. Although on maternity leave she still asks for updates on Bear. My replacement vet is just as good. We went in on wednesday for a test and he came in on his day off (thursday) to call and discuss the results with me personally. jenny
Response:
> Why would you expect vet >bills to stay the same as they were in 1985 when everything the vet buys, >labor bills he pays, the electricity bill, insurance bills, rent property >taxes, federal income taxes, and everything else has gone up incrementally
You are right Steve. And just look around in the average family’s garage…you’ll see stacks and STACKS of high end expensive ‘toys’ being parked or unused. I don’t have to look far to see young families dumping a hundred bucks on dinner or dvd’s or just a week-ends worth of random spending that won’t even be duly noted (except for the fact that most of us start out on Friday with that hundred dollar bill and come Sunday…IT’S gone. these guys are worth the expense it takes to keep them healthy and well.
Response:
In 1990 I bought a new Ford Super Cab Xl-250 diesel pickup. It cost me $21, 700. A couple weeks ago I began looking for a replacement. To my utter chagrin the same or similar truck is now $44,000. Why would you expect vet bills to stay the same as they were in 1985 when everything the vet buys, labor bills he pays, the electricity bill, insurance bills, rent property taxes, federal income taxes, and everything else has gone up incrementally since then. I would agree $394 for a routine teeth cleaning is a bit high in some markets, I’m thinking East Leaping Deer Montana for example. In LA or a big city, probably not.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> $50 for a teeth cleaning in 1985. Just this month I paid $394 for a > teeth cleaning from the same vet office!
Response:
Diddy I sure hope you see improvement SOON with your dog. $1,200 in a week is tough!! I feel like a wimp complaining about ‘this’ but here it is: My vet charges me $51 for Frontline for my little dog. This is the price of just walking in and getting it without seeing the vet at all. I just bought it on Ebay for $18 !! I don’t see how that high price can be justified.
Response:
> > skin bumps were nothing serious. I was shocked. She could have easily charged > me $30 but she didn’t. I just paid for the vaccines and went on my way…. 
> Since Norma has been diagnosed with diabetes, we’re pretty much at the > vet once a week. Frequently my vet will throw in a nail clipping at > no charge. Not much, but it helps a little. > What gets me more than anything is the price of the prescription dog > food she now has to have.
My dog is on prescription dog food, and it makes such a difference that I consider it essential. Seeing how critical diet is to a special needs dog, I consider it the cheapest of his meds. I spent $1200 at the vets this week. I keep thinking I can’t maintain this. Then I think about how essential he is to me, that being without him is unthinkable, and I have the rest of my life to pay this all back. Then again.. When he’s gone, I just might go drive into a tree or something, and won’t have to worry about it.
Response:
> skin bumps were nothing serious. I was shocked. She could have easily charged > me $30 but she didn’t. I just paid for the vaccines and went on my way….
Since Norma has been diagnosed with diabetes, we’re pretty much at the vet once a week. Frequently my vet will throw in a nail clipping at no charge. Not much, but it helps a little. What gets me more than anything is the price of the prescription dog food she now has to have.
Response:
I agree with you. BUT- I had the surprise of my life yesterday when I took my dog to the vet. My dog had two bumps on his skin that were not there before so I made an appt. with the vet so she could look at them. Well, he was also due for 2 vaccines. Usually if he is just going to have vaccines done, they just have a tech take him back and charge us for the vaccines and that’s all. Well, since my dog had the skin bumps we had to have an office visit. Well the vet looked him over then she gave him the vaccines rather than the tech. When I got up front I expected the bill to include an office visit and the two vaccines. SURPRISE….she said that there was no charge for the office visit since the bumps on his skin were skin tags and nothing to worry about-no big deal-I was not in the office for very long at all. I just wanted to make sure that these skin bumps were nothing serious. I was shocked. She could have easily charged me $30 but she didn’t. I just paid for the vaccines and went on my way…. <font size=3 face="papyrus"> Christine<font size=2 face="comic sans ms"> Owner of a Pug-male-7 years old-Fawn-21 pounds<font size=2 face="century gothic"> Take out the "b" to reply
Response:
Why are vet bills so outrageously high? I remember back in the sixties, seventies and eighties as a kid growing up and as a young adult that the Vet bills for our various dogs were never that out of range as they are now. I remember when one of our dogs needed to be kept overnight for observation there was no extra charge for the overnight stay. Now, my neighbor’s dog was kept overnight for an infection and the bill was over $750. The same thing happened to me about 4 years ago when my dog had a bad reaction to a medication the vet gave her even though he knew she was sensitive to it. They kept her overnight and tried to charge me over $1000 for their mistake. I was looking at some old receipts and I paid $50 for a teeth cleaning in 1985. Just this month I paid $394 for a teeth cleaning from the same vet office!
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