18/05/2023
Written by colleagues in my state, in response to the ACA article.
I have written similarly before, but they have done so far better than I.
Well said 👏
Let’s have a really open discussion about the cost of veterinary care.
Many of you may have seen the article on “A Current Affair” about the $37000 vet bill for a French bulldog. It raises a lot of points which A Current Affair failed to address in a meaningful way, and instead was simply a bit of sensationalistic journalism. So lets talk through some of the issues that need to be discussed from this article, and what lessons we can all learn from them.
1. Vet care is not cheap. Veterinary care can cost a lot. There are no government subsidies for veterinary work, so clients need to pay what it costs to provide these services. Our fees are also subject to GST, so there’s another 10% added to every bill. The equipment we use is very expensive – for example, our ultrasound machine is worth around $60000, our xray machine $50000, our anaesthetic monitor $15000. Even our computer related costs are around $30000 per year. All these costs need to be covered by pet owners, as this is the only source of income for clinics.
2. Vet care can be a lot more expensive than it used to be. Just like every industry, we have been hit by inflation. Medications and equipment are all more expensive than they used to be. We also have access to equipment and treatment options that previously didn’t exist. MRI and CT scanners, monoclonal antibody therapies, advanced cancer treatments, etc. When I graduated these just weren’t a thing in veterinary science, so rather than having expensive tests and treatments available, the pets were often euthanased as there was no viable and humane alternative. Now we can treat cases like never before, but this progress comes with a cost. Where people’s budgets don’t allow for the “best” treatment options, we still have the ability to use some older or less expensive options with the understanding that the results may not be as good.
3. Dogs with extreme features are likely to cost more. Let’s look at the French bulldog for example. The dog in this article initially had a back issue. French bulldogs almost always have deformed vertebrae (a Finnish study of 1000 French bulldogs showed 999 dogs had abnormal vertebrae, so just 1 in 1000 had a normal, healthy spine). Due to the extreme shortening of the face, this dog subsequently developed breathing problems (around 90% of French bulldogs have breathing issues to the point where surgery is indicated), so the dog needed a tracheostomy tube inserted and intensive care to manage the airway and the spine. These problems only existed because of the breeding for extreme characteristics. We see many problems in dogs which are only present because of their extreme feature, from breathing problems in brachycephalic dogs through to back problems in dachshunds. To minimize vet costs, please thoroughly research problems in the breed you are interested in and then find a breeder which is actively improving the situation for that breed. As a very general rule, the more extreme the features of the breed, the more likely the dog is to have problems.
4. There are different levels of care available, and this comes with different costs and outcomes. In the A Current Affair case, the owners were informed of the likely costs, given a range of alternative treatment options, gained a second opinion, and still chose to go ahead with the treatment fully aware of the associate costs. We all realise that, for most people, this sort of fee is not possible. However, for some people, the cost is affordable and they are happy to spend the money to give their pet the best possible chances. Where costs are limited, vets will endeavor to do the best they can for the animal within the owner’s budget.
5. Consider pet insurance. One of the best ways to ensure your pet can experience high quality care without costs being a limiting factor is to have pet insurance. We recommend getting pet insurance from an early age so that there are as few “pre-existing conditions” as possible.
6. Most vets give an estimate for any procedure. Although we sometimes run into unexpected problems, we always try to give an accurate estimate for any procedure that we are undertaking. That way the owners can understand how much it is likely to cost, and we can discuss alternative options if the “best” treatment is out of the client’s budget. It’s not for us to judge clients based on what they can or can’t afford. We will focus on doing what is best for the animal and the owner with the resources available.
7. We are so used to not seeing the true cost of human health care that we don’t realise what great value vets deliver. With COVID still present, it gives us a good example. An antiviral, Molnupiravir, costs $30 for a course courtesy of the PBS. If charged to the patient at full price it would cost $1109.31. For a non-complicated caesarean the true cost for a human is over $11000, though the average amount a person actually pays is $450 (figures from Department of Health). For a vet to perform a caesarean the cost is around $2000. So, although the human procedure actually costs around five times as much as the dog procedure, the human patient only pays around a quarter of what a dog caesarean costs.
8. Don’t tell us we “only care about the money”. No-one enters this profession to get rich, and almost no-one becomes wealthy by being a vet. The average vet in Australia earns less than $100000pa, so although it’s not a bad wage it’s not excessive considering we have at least 5 years university training, graduated with between $50000 and $100000 in student debts, and are often working weekends, nights and public holidays. Last year vets were ranked as the 318th highest paying job in Australia – that leaves a lot of other things we could do if we “just cared about the money”.
9. Follow your vet’s advice. The dog on A Current Affair had been advised to have surgery on its airway at least 12 months ago. Had they followed their vet’s advice many of the complications they encountered with their dog may not have eventuated.
10. As vets, we need to get better at educating clients about what veterinary care may cost. To help with this, we have now started including a Prices section on our website. For many things the prices shown are rough guides as it can vary from case to case, but it’s at least a starting point. As time permits we will try to add more information to the page so people can be better informed. Our Prices section can be found at https://1wq08drwk0e.typeform.com/to/gxeQpXA4?typeform-source=bunburyvets.com.au
