why are veterinarians cost so expensive?

Question

it cost 100.00 just fo a visit for a check up and meds, even the low vcost places are sort of high for someone working a pretty close to minimum wage job , we want to enjoy the companionship of a pet too, I have taken in 2 ferals it s sad when the animal is sick or not feeling well, at least humans can go to an emergency and be BILLED I have never even found a vet thats willing to bill, and I am in Chicago where you would think there would be some like that

I know there is insurance for animals so I do not believe that that person who claims to be a vet tech really is one or they would have KNOWN that, and then to the person that said ferals should be in the wild: they are NOT wild animals they have BECOME wild from abandonment, they live on the streets, in the alleys and they do NOT deserve to live that way they suffer and have feeling too, and I certainly hope you have NEVER have any pets since you are like the mad killer for a sick animal if you get sick do think about suicide? of COURSE not, I called my local feral people and they gace me the name of two vets that wil take payments I am very disappointed in the callousness i continually find on Yahoo answers and to those of you who do care.... thanks.

I would pay my bill for my vet before I would pay my cable my phone or even my lights I value my animals and the trust that someone puts in me when they extend me credit, I think the vet employess need their pay and the cable and phone and electric employees are not as dependent on my paying my bil ontime and the corporation can wait in line, i wish I could pay everyone and be free and clear but I have not found that Utopian world for my situation yert

Answer 1

Veterinarians are expensive just like human doctors. The supplies and drugs are costly so you end up paying for it. If you had pet health insurance (there really is insurance for pets) then the visits would cost you way less just like if you have health insurance for yourself then your doctor visits cost less.

Answer 2

I know it is expensive, but consider all the costs vets have to pay only to keep their practice running: rent, very costly devices, like imaging machines, supplies (many of them medical), salaries, drugs, insurance, etc.

Furthermore, veterinarians invest many years in veterinarian schools, and in some senses their curriculum is a lot harder than MD's. Consider Anatomy, for instance: human anatomy is the same, and it is the only one MD's have to study; vets, on the other hand, must study the anatomy of every species they treat, and Anatomy (human or animal) is one of the hardest subjets in veterinarian or human Medicine.

Not enough? People who don't really know what is a VMD tend to consider vets as "second rate doctors", but this is a common mistake and vets cannot be held responsible for it. I'll only say this: if someone deserves to be called "Doctor", it is a vet.

It is wise to keep only the number of pets for which you can afford good veterinarian services an give the others to an animal shelter. Otherwise, you will have ill-kept animals, whose company you will end up hating, not to mention the problem to put up with the feeling of guilt, each time they are sick and die because you could not pay a vet.

I understand your frustration only too well, because I would have a huge house full of animals, if I could afford to do such a thing. Since I can't, I have learned to be content with a few darlings very well kept. It is sad, but such is life and there is nothing we can do about it.

Good luck with your critters!

Answer 3

It is not the visit to see the vet that is so outrageous, it is all the extra stuff they want to do, like blood tests, ALLERGY tests, etc., I took my dog to a nice vet clinic with several doctors. I told the vet that my dog probably had skin allergies because he was having the same skin breakout during the summer that another dog of mine ha (that one lived to be 16 years old! This vet wanted to do ALLERGY tests on my dog for $5OO!! I told him I have allergies too and my doctor told me he could do tests but they might not ever know what I was allergic to. I asked that they treat like any allergy and I don't have $500. That's how the get you. They look at your pet, then go out and make up a bunch of things they want to do to the pet \whether they need it or not. The vet said I should at least do a THYRIOID test. I did it because it was $135 and nothing was wrong. They are all out to charge you as much as they can! It wasn't that way even 1en years ago, You could find a reasonable vet who worked on his own and not in a big clinic with three or four vets charging you an arm and a leg.,

Answer 4

Pet Insurance is the answer. I think it's only a couple of dollars a week but having the insurance if there's a major problem is a huge help. I don't rush my pets to the vet for everything. If they have something wrong, I treat it like I would a child and wait 24 hours. If they aren't better, they go to the vet. 90% of the time, they're fine. I've taken in 6 cats over the past 7 years and besides going to the vet to get desexed (which my council subsidises), I've only had to take 2 of them to the vet once each. One of these cats has died but that was from old age - 14 years.

Unfortunately people don't see treating animals the same way they see treating people.

Answer 5

Veternarians, like doctors for humans, have huge expenses that must be covered. Aside from the 8 years of schooling that vets undergo in the US (same as a medical doctor), they must have specialized equipment, x-ray machines, labs to review specimens, surgical units and supplies, housing for animals being treated, staff... the list goes on.

In reality, most vets don't make huge amounts of money, given that their expenses are so high and they need to keep the fees low because most pet owners pay out of pocket and will balk at extremely high bills. In reality, charging around $100 for an appointment is not all that much.

Check with your local humane society. Many do have some kind of programs to provide veterinary care for low-income people. And try speaking with your vet. Many vets do understand that some owners can't pay everything up front and will try to work out some sort of payment plan with you.

Answer 6

One reason is that vets have very expensive educations - four years of college and four more years of graduate education in a veterinary school.

Vets have to run a "business" - rent property, employ receptionists and veterinary technicians, stock drugs and equipment. So they are really like people doctors whose costs for many of us are covered by insurance so that we are not aware of the full cost of their services.

Some vets are venal like some people - most sincerely want to do the best by the animals that they treat. And experience has shown that many people will "stiff" the vet after services have been rendered and the people won't pay their bills.

It is a shame that animals don't have the same protective coverage that people do in emergencies and to do preventative medicine and that is just the way our economy works unfortunately. I know that the clinic vets where I take my cats does work with rescue organisations and does spaying/neutering, testing and shots for animals that do not have owners. I have taken several "rescue" cats there and they have found homes for them too - housing them at the clinic till a suitable home is found.

There are many organisations like SpayUSA (run by the Doris Day Foundation) that offer low-cost clinics for spaying and neutering. Your taxes and community donations support the services of your local animal control in helping animals in need. Still it remains the responsibility of individual owners to be prepared to save the money necessary for their pets' treatment.

Answer 7

This is actually a complicated question. But with veterinary medicine billing has historically caused problems. Anyone who has worked long enough in the field has been taken advantage of over and over. The reason they do not bill is because many people who cannot afford to pay for the care, do not pay the mailed bill. Thus after many notices it goes to collections and the hospital never sees the funding.

Many veterinarians are willing to work with a client in terms of giving post-dated checks because this is more of a guarentee that the person will pay their bill. Moreover, if you've been a client somewhere for some length of time or have paid substantial amounts in your short relationship, the clinics are more inclined to set-up a payment plan.

Please keep in mind that medical equipment is expensive and in all honesty, this is not a high paying field for the staff (including the veterinarians); unless the veterinarians own their own practice, they make nothing remotely compared to a human doctor. To put this in perspective, many vet students graduated with $120,000 + debt, and go into a job starting at $35,000-$40,000. These are not made up, from a professional magazine discuss the declining amount of students persuing degrees in veterinary medicine.

But anyhow, going back to the more here-and-now. People constantly think and request for free medical treatment for their pets because they cannot afford it. People leave animals on the door-steps of clinics in boxes, tied to railings etc. People constantly claim that they will "make payments" and many do not. Each clinic has it's own policy as to how it deals with this; some are more flexible than others.

Emergency clinics are a whole different story. Usually emergency clinics are staffed by veterinarians that work elsewhere by day. Many emergency clinics are not open during the day and only serve people during emergency hours when the people's normal veterinarian clinics are closed. These clinics require payment right there because they will likely never see you again, sometimes get false contact information on the forms, etc. Thus they have no way of knowing whether you will actually pay your bill.

Lastly, what keeps the cost of veterinary medicine as low as they are is the lack of pet health care. While there are pet healthcare companies, it is not widely used (and not very worthwhile unless something major happens). Keeping health insurance out, will keep the costs down and enable the veterinarians to practice what they love and not have to spend hours (or start paying people) to deal with insurance.

Veterinarians and people that work their love animals. They want to help sick animals and are not happy having to turn people away. But they also have to be able to pay the bills, pay the staff and provide care. And unfortunately there are many people who take advantage of veterinarians. You will find someone who is new to the field and just opening their own practice is more lenient with payment, but over the years becomes more strict as they deal with problems. It's just a sad truth about the field and people.

Answer 8

Why are human doctor costs so expensive?

Pharmaceutical costs are outrageous for us and for our pets. Plus there's the overhead of rent if they rent the building & paying the employees to take into consideration.

We tend not to bill at our clinic because we have been burned many times by those who brought their pet in to be checked on, they were made well, and once they left the clinic they thought it was ok to not pay us in a timely manner. Once they took their healthy pet home, they forgot the one person responsible for helping their pet achieve health.

Answer 9

Vet costs are so high because they don't have insurances, like we humans do to, to regulate the costs. Plus, Vets are EVERYTHING doctors. There are specialists, but think about his equipment he has at just the office alone. There are x-ray machines, x-ray processors, various blood machines, dental equipment, surgery equipment, anesthesia drugs, etc. With just the few things I mentioned above I've named a Radiologist, Labratory Technician, Dentist, Surgeon and Anesthesiologist; all of which your HUMAN doctor has to refer you to in order for your insurance claims to be paid. The Vet has to pay for all those machines somehow because if your pet has a bad enough kind of emergency, he will utilize almosts all of those machines at once and if he takes time to refer you to a specialist, your pet could be dead on your car ride over. As far as the no billing policy....Vets get stiffed out of money more than you think and it's the old rule that everyone has to get punished for what the few jerks have done. Also, they have to know and be prepared for more things that a human doctor does and doesn't make half as much as a human doctor would. Hope this all makes sense.

Answer 10

I think every pet owner can sympathize with you about veterinary costs - although we sure appreciate them. The only thing I can think of is for you to call around and look for affordable vet services. I did that. I called and visited many vets before I found one whose protocols were up to date and very good yet affordable. For a normal check-up, he charges me $30.00 and spends at least 20 mins with my cat and me. Last time, he gave my cat 45 mins of his time. We really need to "shop around" for a vet. Oh, I live in Portland Oregon.

Answer 11

because vets need to make money too.... but you can always go to your local pet store like petsupermarket or petco they have vets that come to the stores at a very minimal price