Veterinary Costs - Now and Then

401 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by krandall, 16 d ago

BoosDad

Having practiced Law, I am very organized. So, I have files, which detail all of Boo’s treatment, dating back to his baby years. Just out of curiosity, I decided to dig through the records, and compare costs for basic items like an office visit or radiographs.

Apparently, in 2002/2003, a routine office visit was $45.00. However, in 2022/2023, the same visit had risen to $74.00, a more than 60 percent increase in cost. Similarly, in 2008, the fee for radiographs (3 views) was $205,00 whereas in 2021, about 13 years later the same radiographs were $345.00, an over 50 percent increase in cost.

I compared costs at similar facilities in major metropolitan areas on the West coast to get a more accurate comparison.

Like everything else, veterinary costs continue to rise and become more unaffordable. So more than ever, I believe that people need to purchase insurance or be certain they have sufficient funds to self insure, even for basic veterinary care.

Any thoughts?

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krandall

· #2 · 17 d ago

I agree, though when it comes to actual dollars and cents, I keep running the numbers and self insuring is still cheaper, especially if you have multiple dogs. Assuming you HAVE the money set aside, and are disciplined about it.

I think it makes a HUGE amount of sense to insure puppies for their first few years. That is when you are likely to get hit by anything genetic, and “stupid puppy stuff”. And premiums are low. Then you hit years of rising premiums (with most companies) and the majority of dogs are relatively healthy. (If your dog is not, by all means KEEP his insurance!!!) when they get old, the premiums get exorbitant with many companies, and just when you are most likely to need it, people are priced out of the market.

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HavaneseMe

· #3 · 17 d ago

Vet care has indeed increased exponentially. We’ve had dogs for 35+ years and I agree with you on the large increase. Inflation has taken its toll. And fewer people are going into the veterinary field.

We got insurance with Ruffin and are happy we did. I don’t want to be in the position of making a medical decision based on cost. We always talked of putting money aside, and we never would. But even more importantly, vet care has gone up so much, you can wipe out a savings account for vet costs with one injury/accident/illness. orthopaedic injuries easily go into thousands of dollars, cancer can easily go into tens of thousands of dollars. I did a lot of research and went with an insurer with a long-established underwriter, not the cheapest, but they don’t nickel and dime the insured like some carriers do. We expect our premiums to rise, and we will have money “set aside” for those increases. Easier than trying to save for a catastrophic event. Glad we did.

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Cassandra

· #4 · 17 d ago

In addition to rising costs, in many parts of the country, certainly true here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a shortage of vets. That of course contributes to spiraling costs for care. It is harder and harder to get appointments for minor issues without paying higher costs for urgent care. I do worry about how people without ample resources are handling the cost of care. I did design a pet insurance policy for Cassie that has a high deductible, discount for yearly premium payment, and a 70% reimbursement with the understanding that the insurance company would simply share the cost but the burden would be mine...like the low premium, high deductible policies that humans now select only to be shocked at how much they end up paying themselves. I did buy Cassie some stock in a pet food growth company which has done very well in the past seven years so she can cash out if needed. She used to eat the food too, but has been on a prescription diet for several years so we can no longer claim to be customers as well as stockholders!

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Heather's

· #5 · 16 d ago

I think it's a very good idea to purchase puppy insurance. If you decide to wait the premiums will be higher. Plus the coverage may be limited if the dog has a preexisting condition or has had treatment for anything. Last year I decided to change Truffles insurance to a different company to lower the monthly premium since she is very healthy. They required an orthopedic exam to get wavier because she was not a puppy. Without the wavier orthopedic problems would not be covered. That vet visit was $150.00. I then began reading reviews and realized it was highly recommended to also get a complete medical history review due to payment denials. Truffles had a callus trimmed off a paw and I could see a possible denial in the future if she ever injured a paw or leg. In the end I had already lost the small amount of savings for that year because of the cost of the ortho exam. 😁 I decided to continue with her present policy.
As Cassandra mentioned it is very difficult finding vet care in SF Bay Area. Many hospitals are not taking new clients. I chose our hospital many years ago because it was open 24 hours for emergency visits even though it wasn't the closest. Now the hours have changed, appointments are difficult to get, urgent and emergency visits need an appointment. I'm now on a waiting list for another hospital. 😕

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krandall

· #6 · 16 d ago

Heather's said:
As Cassandra mentioned it is very difficult finding vet care in SF Bay Area. Many hospitals are not taking new clients. I chose our hospital many years ago because it was open 24 hours for emergency visits even though it wasn't the closest. Now the hours have changed, appointments are difficult to get, urgent and emergency visits need an appointment. I'm now on a waiting list for another hospital. 😕

That is true here in the greater Boston area too. I use three different practices, one as my regular vet, one for repro work and another specialty and emergency hospital. But even though we are known clients of the specialty hospital, they are so backed up that when Kodi first was diagnosed with hie autoimmune dry eye, we had to wait almost 4 months for an appointment with the ophthalmologist. My regular vet was managing his condition as well as she could, but she KNEW he needed a specialist. Once we were on her service, we were OK. We had regular appointments, and if I had a problem, I could call. But getting in was tough.

And the night the puppies were born, even though my repro vet is open 7 days, naturally, I had a problem with one of the puppy’s umbilical cords after hours. I called our emergency hospital, told them what was going on, snd was told, yes, the puppy needed to be seen, and no, they were straight out and couldn’t see him. So they sent me to a small urgent care practice further away. It turned out to be fine. The puppy was fine, there was a lot of oohing and ahhing over the cute puppies and I went home. I would NOT have felt comfortable taking a girl there that needed a C-section…

I LOVE my regular vet, but she js now the medical director for our practice, and it is harder and harder to schedule appointments with her. I keep crossing my fingers that she won’t decide not to stop seeing patients!

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BoosDad

Discussion Starter · #7 · 16 d ago

Thank you all for your contributions. I think your insights are very valuable. Individuals with a new puppy or contemplating a new addition need to be forewarned about veterinary care.

Boo also had a GP and specialist, during the last three years of his life. Both practices were very busy and limited new clients. I was just lucky that, because of Boo’s advanced age, both practices would always fit us in at the last minute. In his final year, his specialist also agreed to manage all his care to make it less stressful for Boo.

When Boo had his stroke in 2021, I was fortunate that his specialist shared space with an emergency hospital, 10 minutes from our home. Since the receptionist knew me well,they immediately got Boo situated in an oxygen tent, shortly after we arrived. I feel that the quick action contributed to his good recovery.

I hope others will contribute to this thread, as quality veterinary care is so important. A healthy Havanese is a happy Havanese.

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LWalks

· #8 · 16 d ago

Heather's said:
I think it's a very good idea to purchase puppy insurance. If you decide to wait the premiums will be higher. Plus the coverage may be limited if the dog has a preexisting condition or has had treatment for anything. Last year I decided to change Truffles insurance to a different company to lower the monthly premium since she is very healthy. They required an orthopedic exam to get wavier because she was not a puppy. Without the wavier orthopedic problems would not be covered. That vet visit was $150.00. I then began reading reviews and realized it was highly recommended to also get a complete medical history review due to payment denials. Truffles had a callus trimmed off a paw and I could see a possible denial in the future if she ever injured a paw or leg. In the end I had already lost the small amount of savings for that year because of the cost of the ortho exam. 😁 I decided to continue with her present policy.
As Cassandra mentioned it is very difficult finding vet care in SF Bay Area. Many hospitals are not taking new clients. I chose our hospital many years ago because it was open 24 hours for emergency visits even though it wasn't the closest. Now the hours have changed, appointments are difficult to get, urgent and emergency visits need an appointment. I'm now on a waiting list for another hospital. 😕

Remind me, are you guys in SF? We had a vet we loved there that was an integrative practice… we now have a different integrative practice that we also love in the East Bay but I’m pretty sure you guys are either SF or South Bay…

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Heather's

· #9 · 16 d ago

LWalks said:
Remind me, are you guys in SF? We had a vet we loved there that was an integrative practice… we now have a different integrative practice that we also love in the East Bay but I’m pretty sure you guys are either SF or South Bay…

We're on the Peninsula, but our vet is in the South Bay. Hoping the other hospital will accept us before their yearly exams!

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Tom King

· #10 · 16 d ago

Vet costs here have not gone up in percentages slowly. They've gone up in factors fairly quickly.

We've started requiring insurance if our guarantee is good. We don't want someone finding themselves at a point that the decision on whether or not a puppy gets treatment is whether it can be afforded or not. That has happened for accidents. Ask yourself if you can easily afford $6,000 if your puppy swallows something and needs an operation.

Vet costs vary widely depending on where you are, but even here where it was always cheap before, it's not any more.

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krandall

· #11 · 16 d ago

Tom King said:
Vet costs here have not gone up in percentages slowly. They've gone up in factors fairly quickly.

We've started requiring insurance if our guarantee is good. We don't want someone finding themselves at a point that the decision on whether or not a puppy gets treatment is whether it can be afforded or not. That has happened for accidents. Ask yourself if you can easily afford $6,000 if your puppy swallows something and needs an operation.

Vet costs vary widely depending on where you are, but even here where it was always cheap before, it's not any more.

Yes, I do the same. My contract only covers up to the cost of the puppy, and that often won’t cover the cost of corrective orthopedic surgery. As breeders, we do everything possible to avoid orthopedic problems, but they can happen. We want our families to be able to help their puppies lead healthy lives if something DOES crop up. … or if they swallow a sock or run behind the family car or get dropped by a child!

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