Veterinary Fees - Rip Off?

L

Lorrie28

Guest
Having enquired about fee regulations - it appears that vets can charge pretty much what they like depending on where they are located and what equipment they are using!
I had to pay 440 euro last month for a cat that needed an operation - was kept in 4 days - cat fine again but I not well myself! How would one go about getting a cap/guide on these exorbitant prices? Cat insurance is 80 per year for one cat.
Thanks.
 
Rather than price caps and overregulation surely a free and competitive market is a better way to stimulate competition and price reductions? Did you try to shop around and check the prices from different vets at the time? If they can charge what they like then it suggests that there should be some charging less than others.
 
I have since found a presumably cheaper vet (miles away) - but when you don't know what is wrong with the animal you can't ask them to give you a quote - the cat went in with vomiting and they operate! I could hardly say don't treat her - I need to know how much it will be?
They should have a standard price for e.g. examination fee, overnight fee etc. I think it should be regulated in some form.
 
Vet Fees

I'm guessing that the operation was relatively serious if it required 4 days inpatient care for your cat. 440 doesn't sound that bad to me for that. Say 70 a night including medication and checking and 120 for the operation. Any vet who sticks the 7 odd years of training and then sets up practise with all the resulting costs and overheads and provides a good service (which it sounds like he/she did) should be paid properly.

How could you expect Vet's fees be capped, when there is nothing similar for doctors or dentists working with humans?

I know it's a lot of money but such is the responsibility of owning a pet. Maybe you should be warning people not to get pets if they can't afford them, rather than having a go at the vet. It's certainly reminded me that I should have a contingency fund for my kitty.

Rebecca
 
Re: Vet Fees

It's certainly reminded me that I should have a contingency fund for my kitty.

A kitty for your kitty! I like it!

For what it's worth, there are also health insurance plans (e.g. ) for pets but I don't know much about them.
 
The Kitty Kitty

Love the kitty kitty idea, Clubman!

It's 78 for my cat, or 58 with the online discount. 6.50 a month DD interest free isn't bad either. Up until about an hour ago I thought this kind of insurance was a bit of a racket, but maybe not. It'd take 6 years of premia to come to 480 and there's a fair chance he'll get something or other in that space of time.

Rebecca
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

What business do you work in, Lorrie - and would you be happy with price caps in your business?
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

It's 78 for my cat, or 58 with the online discount.

25% discount for signing up online! Wow!
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

Yes the cat is insured with Allianz Direct. 78 euro - added my other pet onto it also since an additional 89.76
When you go to the doctor you know its going to be 45 euro.
The cat was vomiting and they didn't know what was wrong but suggested a blockage in the gut - it turned out she had an infection which needed antiobiotics. The actual surgery was 93 euro - the rest was blood samples, drips, biopsies. Overnight board 6.93 a night - hospitalise cat per night 16.84
I am not saying they didn't do a good job - I was delighted she recovered as they also thought she might have cancer!
Miss Ribena I am also well aware of the responsibility of having pets and the cost which I am willing to pay - but a guideline price list on display should be available as with most services.
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

Rainyday - what I work at isn't the issue - nor is it relevant to my comment/query.
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

I'm playing devils advocate just a little bit - I'm just wondering why you would want to impose such restrictions on another industry without accepting the restrictions yourself. Is there any possibility that any of your customers reckon that your products/services are over-priced from time to time?
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

I didn't say I wanted to impose restrictions - perhaps "cap" was too strong of a word - Guideline prices.
I am not in an industry where I have directly have anything to do with prices.
 
Re: The Kitty Kitty

I am not in an industry where I have directly have anything to do with prices.
Click to expand...
This isn't really relevant. Your salary is being paid out of the prices charged by your company. If your vet told you 'I don't have anything to do with prices - the practice manage sets those', would you have been any happier?

I appreciate your concerns about prices, but I don't see guideline prices as being the answer. First of all, we're going to need teams of civil servants to manage & update lists of guideline prices. Secondly, once the guideline price has been set, there is no incentive for a keen, hungry, young vet to set his prices below the guidelines, so this might well reduce competition instead of improving it.

If we want to reduce prices, basic economics would tell us to increase the supply of vets. I think vets were one of the professions being investigated by the Competition Authority, so perhaps that investigation might yield some fruits in the future. We also need to start being prepared to haggle on price, if price is important to us. I understand that this is very difficult in an emergency situation, but then perhaps we should take out insurance and leave the insurance company (who has greater leverage & purchasing power) to haggle with the vet.
 
Vets

It doesn't sound like a rip-off on the basis of the individual costs you mentioned. It just sounds like your cat required a lot of attention to diagnose and cure. That's life, unfortunately.

Price guides would eliminate whatever competition already exists. Not to mention, how would you make up a price guideline for all the different types of animals, medications and treatments - surely procedures vary greatly from one species to another for a start. And wouldn't vets that specialise in one animal group (farm, domestic, exotic) be better value in their chosen group even if they handle the others from time to time too.

There are no price guidelines for GPs or chemists incidentally. My GP is in fact a tenner or 22% cheaper than yours but evenso he put his price up 5 at a time without any announcement.

Rebecca
 
insurance not really worth it

My kitty was sick a few weeks ago. We had one trip to the emergency hospital, one trip to our own vet and the drugs to pay for (almost €200). Afterwards we sat down to work out if we should have pet insurance, but after reading the small print, it turns out that we couldn't have claimed anything. All it seems to cover you for is major life or death accidents. The kitty kitty is a much better idea.

The good news is, Mr kitty is up and about and causing havoc again
 
Re: insurance not really worth it

We have both a cat and a dog in the past. We have found that the cat is much less expensive to bring to the vet than the dog ever was.
 
Re: insurance not really worth it

We just got a cheque for 315 euros from our PetPlan insurance. Our dog developed a lump which was removed and sent to the UK for testing. We paid the vet for the op and follow-up, he filled out the form for the insurance and we received the cheque a few weeks later.

We only got the insurance to cover liability really, in case the dog bit someone or caused an accident. We probably wouldn't have bothered for a cat. I had also read the small print and thought it wouldn't be worth it for medical expenses because of the excess and various other terms and conditions. So, we were pleasantly surprised to do quite well out of it! The annual premium was EUR 90.

So, hard to know really. I guess it's a gamble. I'm not a big fan of insurance generally and usually go for the bare minimum.
 
Re: insurance not really worth it

My little brother is a vet for his sins. In fairness his income is pretty poor in comparison to GPs, consultants, etc and he works crazy hours. He is thinking of changing carreer due to the poor financial rewards. I really don't know why doctors get all the publicity!

If you think your pet's medical fees are expensive I suggest you see what the equivalent human fess are, after all the procedures are identical! You'll soon realise Vets are way underpaid in comparison to the human equivalents!!!

Purrrrrrrrrr!
 
Re: insurance not really worth it

I'm not a big fan of insurance generally and usually go for the bare minimum.

Phew! For a moment there I thought that you said bear minimum!
 
Re: insurance not really worth it

Lorrie said:I could hardly say don't treat her - I need to know how much it will be?

My vet was very explicit with me/ He warned me how much an operation and stay in their surgery would be/ and asked did I want to go ahead with the expense. It wasn't absolutely certain that my cat would survive the op as she had been very severely injured in a road traffic accident. Certainly I felt that she had a good understanding of financial constraints and in the end, I paid them over a few weeks. Personally, I was amazed at the service she offered. (Cat was run over half an hour before the start of the World Cup Final - nearly all vets had their mobiles off!) Yes it was expensive but it was my choice. (Didn't take out pet insurance as think the cat has learnt about shooting across the road now!)
 
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