Vet Bills

[Lablover]

Silly me posted an incorrect link: Sorry +++

Should have been:

http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1652342/choice-urges-vets-to-dump-high-fees-and-unnecessary-charges/?cs=7

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incorect link:

PET owners are being hit with dramatically different vet bills for the same procedures. And some pet owners claim they were charged more than triple the usual cost for after-hours emergency surgery in the absence of any pricing regulation of the unregulated vet industry.

Veterinarians say climbing fees are the price of technological advancements, putting pet care almost on par with human care for the first time. But owners fear the rising trend of pet specialist referrals is leading to unreasonable fees.

Veterinary costs are unregulated and no price guides are available. Pet owners must rely on shopping around.

Inquiries by The Sunday Mail have found desexing an adult female cat can cost from $144 to $235, depending on the veterinary surgery. Desexing a male dog can range from $157 to $330.

Vaccinating an adult female cat can cost from $54 to $87 and microchipping from $42 to $69.

Jimboomba dog breeder Helma Dressler said her records showed caesarean costs had tripled in a decade.

Costs for a caesarean can vary from $660 at Warwick to $1500 in Brisbane and $900 at Redbank Plains, according to breeders.

But Australian Veterinary Association national president Dr Mark Lawrie said while vet fees had risen "dramatically" in the past decade, competition laws made price regulation or issuing price schedules dangerous. He attributed rising costs to advancements such as the rise in MRIs, CAT scans and chemotherapy for animals.

"There have been a lot more services available, such as 24-hour clinics that are very well-equipped and cost a lot of money to run," he said.

Animal specialists now exist for dozens of conditions, with vet surgeries able to refer pet owners to specialists in cancer, dermatology, internal medicine, diagnostic imaging and a range of other fields.

At the Australian Animal Cancer Foundation facility in Albany Creek, north of Brisbane, pet owners pay an average $2500 to $3000 to have cats and dogs treated for cancer by Dr Rod Straw.

Some pet owners have spent six-figure sums on cancer treatment at the facility.

One owner spent almost $100,000 on vet bills over six years to save two 12-year-old pet boxers from cancer.

Government subsidies might have curbed the cost of human medical advances, but pet owners have been left struggling to foot spiralling vet bills.

Some pet owners said they were shocked by bills of more than $4000 for after-hours surgery.

Deception Bay dog breeder Debbie Creagh was hit with a $4400 bill for an emergency after-hours caesarean on her labrador retriever Brooke this month after the 20-month-old swallowed a dog toy.

Among the cost was a $50 fee for a surgical dog gown.

Mrs Creagh said she paid for an emergency caesarean for another dog months earlier costing $2200, but has paid as little as $600 for the same procedure during normal consultation hours.

Another pet owner was shocked at a $954 animal emergency centre bill to save a cat with a blocked bladder.

Sunshine Coast pensioner Ralph Huddy spent close to $7000 to have specialists fix cruciate ligament problems in his cattle dog's hind legs.

[email protected]

Edited July 22, 2013 by Lablover

[minimax]

Well that's the most pointless article ever written. After hours things cost more, what s surprise

[kelpiecuddles]

LOL, exactly what I was thinking, but you wrote it so much more concisely than I would have Minimax.

[DeltaCharlie]

I got part way through the article before I stopped reading, so forgive me if they did address this.

What some people don't realise is that different vets make up their costs with different things. Some provide cheaper surgeries but more expensive general consults and regular things like vaccinations. Others charge more for surgeries but everyday things are cheaper. Then you get other vets who make quite a bit of a profit off the sale of dog food, flea treatments etc (through more promotion or simply demographic) and can afford to offer cheaper services. After hours vets are not only having to pay extra in wages for the hours they are open, but they also do not usually sell any dog food etc and need to make their money through the vet care they provide.

[Jumabaar]

I got part way through the article before I stopped reading, so forgive me if they did address this.

What some people don't realise is that different vets make up their costs with different things. Some provide cheaper surgeries but more expensive general consults and regular things like vaccinations. Others charge more for surgeries but everyday things are cheaper. Then you get other vets who make quite a bit of a profit off the sale of dog food, flea treatments etc (through more promotion or simply demographic) and can afford to offer cheaper services. After hours vets are not only having to pay extra in wages for the hours they are open, but they also do not usually sell any dog food etc and need to make their money through the vet care they provide.

This really is a big factor.

Another consideration is that just about every vet clinic I know of (with the exception of specialist clinics) discount desexing! So the money for that needs to come from somewhere to make ends meet, and yes it does take more than $144 to do major abdominal surgery- assuming the clinic uses sterile equipment for each patient of course. So when someone pays the actual cost of abdominal surgery I am not surprised that they balk at the cost when its not so heavily discounted.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Jumabaar

[kelpiecuddles]

Pleas real estate costs of course, it's not rocket science that vet operating in areas where property is expensive to buy or lease will have higher outgoings than those in cheaper areas. Some machines used in vet cliniscs are incredibly expensive too

[Little Gifts]

I hate these kinds of stories. You pay for what you get and you get what you nurture. Vets have to make a living and keep up with technology and public expectations. I chose my vet the same way I chose my personal GP. I don't care what my vet charges because it is the outcomes for my animals that are more important to me - I wouldn't insult her for all her hard work by even questioning her rates because she constantly goes above and beyond what I expect of her.

So if you don't have a regular vet that you have a good relationship with that benefits your pets then big surprise when you go into any old clinic and get charged for random fees that you want to complain about later!

[Sydoo]

It's as useful and informative as the article I read a month or so ago that revealed the shocking conspiracy that 7-11 style convenience stores charge higher prices than normal supermarkets.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Deception Bay dog breeder Debbie Creagh was hit with a $4400 bill for an emergency after-hours caesarean on her labrador retriever Brooke this month after the 20-month-old swallowed a dog toy.

Gotta be careful about swallowing those dogs toys - they cause pregnancies!!

The article in Choice this month was equally as bad.

[kelpiecuddles]

Yeah I didn't quite get that either? It almost sounds like she is complaining about having paid more for a combination surgery requiring a ceasar and extraction of a foreign object from the bitch compared to a simple emergency caesar compared to a simple planned caesar. t's not rocket science that those three would have very different costs associated with them.

[*kirty*]

Its very frustrating. I work at a specialist clinic and our prices are very reasonable compared to many other specialists. And yet every day we have people complaining about the cost of specialist elective surgery. Especially love the 'but I had the same surgery and I didn't pay that much' argument. Yes, that's because human surgeries are usually subsidised by the government!

[sandgrubber]

I agree with the general tone . . . BFD, vet prices vary . . . as do costs of apples and oranges.

What I'd like to see, instead, is a well researched tirade about how drug companies jack up the prices for dog and cat medicines. So often, you can find the horse or cow version of the same active ingredient selling for 1/10th of the cost, and it's interesting to see how, when there (supposedly) is competition, the prices for online meds come out more or less the same. Eg, they know they can hit you for $1 to $2 a day for flea treatment, so they charge something in this range, even if the active ingredient costs pennies a day. Spinosid, the active ingredient in Comfortis, is cheap sold as an insecticide. Why is it so expensive bundled into a pill for dogs or cats?

[Christina]

The quotes for vaccine & microchip were ridiculous. For basics like these the client can shop around although a regular vet you know & trust is better for ongoing health issues.

Private business shouldn't be controlled on what it charges although prices can sometimes seem a shock it has to be dealt with if anything arises.

Too much is controlled already.

[Rosetta]

If you click on the link you will find it is a different story - as the OP has clarified.

I thought I had seen that story about the swallowed object and the caesarean somewhere ages ago!

[Guest Wildthing]

I was recently quoted $600 by one vet clinic to desex a cryptorchid cat. Another clinic quoted over $400 plus they wanted to do an ultrasound that costs over $100. Neither clinic got my business and for the life of me, I cannot understand the cost quoted. The operation for that proceedure is similar to desexing a female cat and the testies are most often found just outside the inguinal canal. I could understand the cost if the vet had to go looking for the testies and found them near the kidneys.

Yes, you pay for what you get, but you can get just as good veterinary treatment for far less if you are a smart shopper.

Melbourne specialist prices have always been much lower than Sydney when I have made enquiries.

[meggie]

Haven't had to worry about out of hours ops, TG, but out vet charges $200 for an after hours (which includes Sundays) call out.

Only time I've had to call at night, the on call vet talked me through the likely cause for free.

Since I'm happy with their services, & they're local, no intention of looking elsewhere.

[aliwake]

Only time I've had to call at night, the on call vet talked me through the likely cause for free.

I'm pretty sure most on call vets would rather solve the problem over the phone than get out of bed, or leave home in the middle of dinner etc for a call out.

I have a vet friend who is often on call nights and weekends and it must really suck!! She's always very patient though :)

[Ruffles]

I hate these kinds of stories. You pay for what you get and you get what you nurture. Vets have to make a living and keep up with technology and public expectations. I chose my vet the same way I chose my personal GP. I don't care what my vet charges because it is the outcomes for my animals that are more important to me - I wouldn't insult her for all her hard work by even questioning her rates because she constantly goes above and beyond what I expect of her.

So if you don't have a regular vet that you have a good relationship with that benefits your pets then big surprise when you go into any old clinic and get charged for random fees that you want to complain about later!

Exactly this. My regular vet are more highly priced (I don't want to use the word expensive, because it's not) than others, but the service/s they provide are exceptional. They have onsite X-ray, Ultrasound, and Pathology. None of those facilities would come cheap to the practice owner, but it's a 'one stop shop' for me, so I am ok with that. Not to mention, because of the excellent relationship I have with my Vets, they try and save me money where possible ie. Giving me prescriptions to get Lokis regular meds from the Pharmacy, instead of paying 530% (literally) more from the Vet.

Also, after just having a Cat in 24 Hour Emergency care for a little under a week, their prices, whilst they add up quickly, were actually CHEAPER than my normal Vet. So things like X-rays, blood tests, and 'boarding' were billed at a lower rate than I would pay normally. People just like to piss and moan about anything they don't understand, or don't place value you. *insert rolly eye man*

[OSoSwift]

I very recently called my vet at 5.30am on a Sunday, which didn't result in a visit, then he called back twice just to keep a check on things.

I then called in the afternoon which did result in a visit which was charged out at a lower price as the puppy was born 5 minutes after arriving and he didn't have to do much ( even though I was fully prepared for the after hours consult fee they were well and truly entitled to charge me)

I only have one vet hospital I can visit but I am happy with their fees in general but there are a few things they do charge a very high fee for with little justification such as triennial vacc's and titre tests

[Cosmolo]

While i don't have an issue with high prices for specialist services, my recent experience with a specialist was such that i came away believing that once they had my money they could not have cared less about the dog. The service received was so terrible that i made a complaint- to which i have received no reply. That, i have an issue with.