Why is it that the same exact surgery for a sick dog...

[Donna]

might cost $2500 plus $230 for lab work at one vet but 1/3 that amount with lab work included at another? Public service announcement to shop around. What a day it's been.

[StephanieZ]

Because some vet hospitals suck big time. They might have crappy equipment, antiquated anesthesia protocols, minimum wage teenage staff, no surgical assistant, no autoclave, no sterile surgical suite . . . They might not even be planning the same procedure being quoted somewhere else. 

 

Alternatively, the cheap hospital might be just great, but run by someone who has no debt (hospital and land already paid for, no student loans to pay) and underpaid staff, possibly be personally independently wealthy, and/or be financially idiotic with no retirement plans, so may be able to afford to undercharge.

 

Of course, it might be that the pricey hospital is run by a money grubbing corporation or individual, bent on taking advantage of those in need.

 

Often times estimates do NOT compare apples to apples. Low ball estimates OFTEN end up MUCH higher at final bill, as many things weren't included. For instance, many hospitals consider pain relief an "extra" and don't include it on their phone estimates. Many practices don't include things like IV catheter placement or IV fluids either. . . . IMHO, ethical hospitals include everything they recommend on the estimate, but not all practices are ethical in that way, IMHO.

 

A fully equipped modest small vet hospital costs about $400k in equipment to set up, not including the real estate. A vet school education costs about 300k these days, not including undergrad. 

 

Some hospitals have professional lay staff, who are treated well, get a living wage and benefits. Others have very poorly trained folks who get very bad wages and no benefits -- those practices tend to have high turnover. 

 

Dh is a vet, and our vet hospital tends to be in the mid-to-upper end of price shopping. There are some practices that are more (mostly a couple corporate owned ones that are profit driven), and some that are cheaper (in particular a couple really shitty practices that shouldn't be practicing on butcher-shop meat let alone pets) and others that, like us, bobble around in the mid-to-upper end of the estimates, depending on what particular thing you are shopping, because there is NO STANDARDIZATION in pricing. We have staff that have been with us for many years (some a decade), get 4 weeks paid time off, more paid maternity/paternity leave, insurance, retirement with matching, etc, etc. They are treated well by us and they provide incredible value to our clients and patients. Staff cost is our single biggest expense . . . We could cut corners there like some practices do, but we believe in our staff, and our clients are happy enough with us to accept our pricing. All that said, we NEVER quote surgeries unless we've examined the dog, except for routine spay/neuter prices. We'd never prepare an estimate unless our vet had done an exam . . . 

 

 

[ktgrok]

What Stephanie said. 

 

I've worked at a clinic that sounds similar to her. And at a clinic that was less expensive, but mostly becaue it was in an area with cheaper real estate AND because the owners didn't have student loans to pay off. Staff was paid okay but not as well as at the first clinic. Certainly no 401K, medical benefits, etc. Then there is the cost of sending staff to continuing education events/conferences, etc. 

 

So I've been at the high end of middle, and the low end of middle. But would NEVER take my dog to the low low places. Ugh. The quality of care at some is mind boggling. No pain meds for surgery, etc. 

 

That said, some places are VERY expensive, either because they are run by a national corporation known to be profit heavy, or because they are specialty centers with top specialists, extra equipment like MRIs, etc that have to be paid for. That level of care is certainly not needed for normal stuff. 

[Pawz4me]

What they said.  I don't shop around for the cheapest vet.  Ever.  If one of my pets is having surgery I want the most up to date equipment, the safest type of anesthesia, pre- and post-op pain control, measures taken to minimize body heat loss during surgery, etc.  I don't want a vet who's going to cheap out on that stuff.  For me I've found the best way to ensure that I have access to a competent but not too expensive vet is to maintain a 36 year relationship with the same vet group.  Yes, I've been with the same vet group since I got my first dog when I was 16.  And they give me all sorts of perks, including discounts on many procedures, for being a special (their word) client.

 

I hope your dog is okay! :grouphug:

[Joules]

Does the pet have to stay overnight?  Be sure to ask if someone actually stays with the animals who overnight after surgery to handle emergencies.  I knew someone who lost a dog after surgery because of a complication and she was all alone.  (I don't know if being monitored would have saved her, but it is something that I check.  Plus I like being able to call the "nurse" first thing in the morning and see how my furbaby is doing. 24 hour monitoring does raise the price though.)

[Joules]

What they said.  I don't shop around for the cheapest vet.  Ever.  If one of my pets is having surgery I want the most up to date equipment, the safest type of anesthesia, pre- and post-op pain control, measures taken to minimize body heat loss during surgery, etc.  I don't want a vet who's going to cheap out on that stuff.  For me I've found the best way to ensure that I have access to a competent but not too expensive vet is to maintain a 36 year relationship with the same vet group.  Yes, I've been with the same vet group since I got my first dog when I was 16.  And they give me all sorts of perks, including discounts on many procedures, for being a special (their word) client.

 

I hope your dog is okay! :grouphug:

 

This link is a great article.  I moved around, so I had to go on personal recommendations, but have ended up in a great practice that refers to great specialists.  Unfortunately, I have a furbaby who has needed multiple surgeries.  

 

My only complaint is that I can't seem to find professionals for myself as good.  I really think I would be better off seeing the vets! Imagine if your doctor told you up front what the costs are, gave you all of the information and research and let you choose the treatment options, called the next day to see how you were doing, etc (and at a tenth of the cost!)

[Donna]

Our pup was examined and diagnosed at the expensive animal hospital. There was no way we could afford the surgery at the price they were quoting plus that was the low end of the quote. To have her diagnosed, it cost over $150 to walk in the door then another $150 for an ultrasound that took them less than 3 minutes from the time they took her from me until they brought her back. They wanted to do lab work and more tests to diagnose her but I asked them to just do the ultrasound and we'd do the other tests if that didn't show anything...our vet had a pretty good idea what the problem was without the ability to do the testing or surgery and an ultrasound was the best thing to show whether or not it was that.

 

Our choice was to shop around or have her put to sleep because she was suffering.

 

Called around to try and save her without putting us in a precarious position financially. Most of the places we called were around $1300-$1500, another was much cheaper but I didn't like the look of the place and it didn't have good reviews. We were very comfortable with the animal hospital who did the surgery and they had excellent feedback. They were caring, talked us through the procedure, included pain meds, watched her overnight, did not add on extra costs for lab work, called to let me know how she was doing after surgery and again this morning, and, most importantly, she is doing well and will be home later today.

 

I will be switching to them as our permanent vet. 

[kroe1]

How about a vet who comes to your home? We have a few around here who drive a large van converted into a surgery suite. Most recovery is done in your home. They watch the dog for about an hour post-op, and then the owners take it from there. Best experience I have ever had with a pet and surgery. The cost was very reasonable also.

 

The downside, of course, is what happens if something goes wrong after the first hour. But, that is a reasonable risk to me if the alternative is put to sleep because the surgery is too expensive.

[MomtoCandJ]

Our vet is low middle cost wise, he has up to date equipment but is a ruralish vet so he knows the people around here can't afford much, though he will send you to another vet if he feels that he doesn't have the experience to help your pet.

[Tammyla]

:iagree: pretty much with the ladies, but have experienced a super expensive vet (non-emergency-emergency) and they were cr@ppy and super expensive.  They really, really wanted me to purchase their super expensive insurance policy.    

 

The place was rec'd by our pound/HC that had picked up my dog, ran her micro-chip and insisted she be vaccinated that day or they would not release her to us that day.  (Her rabies were due, she had an appt. with our regular vet 5 days later, but it was there way or they kept her in doggy jail; it was late in the day and our vet was closed btw.  We had no choice but to pay the fee for scanning her microchip ($95 ) and take the appt. with the vet that day.)