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How do you avoid getting ripped off at the vet?
I took my dog to the vet today for an eye infection. Total cost $258. They checked for a corneal ulcer, but she was clear for that. According to the vet, the eye infection is on both the eye and the eyelid, and they put her on three different medications - pill and two ointments. This is my first sick visit to a vet so I wasn't sure what to expect and no idea what is normal, but this seems over the top to me. FWIW the bill includes a follow up check up next week. But if she is not better and needs more mes, presumably I have to buy them then.
I found my vet through a woman in my book club. I had no problems during my dog's initial post-adoption check up, and actually recommended the book to another woman in my book club. I saw that woman tonight, and she told me she had an issue with this vet recently where she felt the $300+ charge was just ridiculous for treatment that seemed relatively routine. But, the reason she needed a new vet in the first place was for exactly that problem - felt she was being overcharged for unnecessary diagnostics and prescriptions by her old vet.
Are we overreacting?
Any tips/resources on how to read and understand vet bills and types of questions to ask?
If you think I need a new vet, any advice on questions or things to look for when shopping for a new vet?
Thanks.
Re: How do you avoid getting ripped off at the vet?
You feel like you are getting ripped off because health insurance masks the true costs of healthcare.
Post an itemized receipt and we'll try to tell you if it is out of line (in terms of services and cost).
This!
Having a pet is expensive. You should see some of the bills I have paid over the years. Sometimes they give me free x-rays and ultrasounds because I go in there so much! LOL!
My vet usually gives estimates on big items like surgeries so I can be prepared in advance and it gives me a chance to ask what each item is for. You can always ask for that. But, I'm trying to remember the last time I had a bill for only $250...
Ditto this. We've lived a few places and the going rates for vet care has varied drastically, even if there wasn't a change in the COL of the area otherwise.
When I moved, I used yelp for a place to start in looking for a new vet. It gave me a more localized idea of which vets are likely to be good. I picked a few that I was intersested in and called them asking their rates for easily comparable items (wellness visit, rabies shot, etc.). Honestly, the rates were usually about the same. Good healthcare is expensive.
My last vet office was ripping me off from time to time. I also wasn't comfortable with the way one of the vets spoke to me, so for one of the procedures I called around to see what other offices typically charge. They were pricey so I asked around for a new vet recommendation.
A lady I volunteer with at the shelter recommended hers and specifically said she was good about not over-treating. She is actually more expensive than the vet I was at, but when she says they need something, she means it.
I don't mind paying a lot for excellent vet care, it was paying a lot for stuff they didn't need that bothered me. If you are not comfortable with this vet, try a new one. When it came down to the end of Kitty's life, I was so happy that I had a vet I could trust completely.
This, exactly.
Still, some vets are better than others. I really love our vet clinic, because they are always upfront about cost, and they always try to present alternative options if money is a concern. They understand and respect that it's expensive for people,and I always feel like their biggest concern is the welfare of their patients.
On the other hand, my sister just switched vets because she was so fed up with hers. He always jumped straight to the most expensive treatment option, and laid a guilt trip on her if she asked about less expensive ways to address a problem.
Shop around, ask friends. While owning a pet is an expense it doesn't have to be expensive. Case in point, my beagle started going to the bathroom in our spare bedroom and was ruining the carpet. After a little less then a week I took her to the vet who wanted a urine sample and made another appointment for me the next day which was for 4:00pm, this was in the middle of the summer BTW. Went to my appointment and they did a UA, came back abnormal, more water then urine. Ok fine, so what now? They did a blood test to check for things like thyroid and blood count, which came back normal but almost 200 just for the blood test.
Shopped around via a work reference for a vet. Turns out she is literally 4 houses down from me and used to own but sold the above mentioned vet. She now works out of her home as well as an ambulance with just her in her practice which cuts down costs. After making my dog another appointment with the new vet she told me she would have suggested getting the first mornings urine, which I agreed with, and so after this long winded post, I felt ripped off as well.
-- Thoughts become things, choose the good ones! --
This too.
I had a high deductible plan for a long time and am incredibly educated on the cost of health care so no, this is not it.
Because I was not clear last night (too much wine with my friend before posting), when I said "this seems over the top to me," I was not referring to the cost in and of itself, but the cost as a result of the amount of medication prescribed. The amount isn't too much in and of itself, it's too much because I have no idea whether every little thing prescribed was necessary. That's where I'm getting hung up.
I've gone to the doctor for a lot of things in my lifetime, and I've never left with three different types of medication to treat anything, much less pink eye. (In this case, I didn't get a diagnosis for her, but was told it was not a scratch or a corneal ulcer, so it's probably just an infection of some sort.)
The vet did not give me an itemized receipt to take with me. I can tell you the bill I saw when I was there listed check up, corneal ulcer exam, three different types of medication (two tiny containers of ointment and a week of pills), and a follow up. I don't remember the breakdown, but I think they listed zero next to the follow up, and the other five things all were around $50, give or take $10ish.
So I'm just looking for some advice in the future. If I'm given a bill with three different kinds of meds and an extra diagnostic exam, how do I deal?
I should also mention that while they were giving her the corneal ulcer check, they gave me some paperwork about deep dental cleans with a cost estimate for $500-$900 and told me I needed to do that every year or two and should make an appointment ASAP. So that just added to my irritation that I felt like I was getting the hard sell.
Good tip, thanks! Yesterday my husband had to take the car to work since he had to stay until 11 pm so I didn't have a choice, but I will keep this in mind for the future.
You have an option of getting second opinions or going to another vet entirely. You can also find a vet that you can DISCUSS treatments/alternative treatments with before they do anything and charge you for it. This goes as well for medicines that are absolutely needed versus medicines that are suggested.
Some vets will take you for a ride, some are honest. Asking the right questions and being informed about your dog's health is the best way to sort out the two.
I would try to find some suggestions for a vet who is known to not over medicate. One of the things I love most about my current vet is that before I can even raise concerns about vaccinations/etc, he tells me exaclty what he thinks my pets need, why they need them, and why they don't need others. I do my own research as well, but it was refreshing to find a vet like that.
Aside from that, you are well within your right to say, "Just for my own knowledge, why three medications?" and have them explain it, in detail.
Snow!
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DGetting 3 different medications for an eye infection does seem a bit over the top, I've never gotten more then an eye ointment for my dogs eye infections.
I would definitely shop around, vet prices can vary immensely. When my rescue dog had heartworm the first vet we went to estimated about $3,000 for treatment, we shopped around and found a wonderful vet hospital that did it for about $800. The price for check up appointments there are also about half what we paid at the first vet.
I can't speak to your specific situation bc I've never had a pet with those issues but the bolded are red flags to me. I have moved around a lot and every vet I've been to gives me an itemized receipt and explains in detail what every medication is for.
The fact that they are pushing the dentals so hard is a big red flag to me because for 1, I have never paid that much for a dental and for 2, it is not necessary across the board to have it done every year. My cat had one 3 years ago and when I took him in for his annual exam (moved, so new vet, not the one that did the dental) I asked about his teeth and my vet said his teeth looked good and there was no need for another dental yet. That in itself gave me confidence that she would not push me to do procedures that were not needed.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Ditto SS. I started out taking my cats to Banfield (PetSmart vet hospital) and always got an itemized printout of what was done/billed during each visit. We switched vets early last summer, and they also provide an itemized printout of what was done (fee for a regular exam, fee for vaccinations, they'll even list something if it doesn't have a fee).
We recently had to take one of our kitties in for a sick visit. The exam fee and the 3 shots they gave her totaled less than $90, and my confidence in my vet not going overboard was reaffirmed by the fact that she didn't immediately jump to a blood test (and she explained why she didn't think it necessary!).
Definitely find a vet you feel comfortable with, even if that comfort doesn't come with a lower price tag. At least having them explain WHY all 3 of those eye infection meds might be necessary would be plus.
PS: My cats are nearly 4 and 3 years and have never had a dental, nor have we been told they need to have one. Dentals require anesthesia, which can be a dangerous thing all on its own. Any vet pushing regular dentals when they might not even be necessary is one I'd run from.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Thanks so much. Here's another question - do your dogs get annual check ups or bi-annual check ups? The reason I ask is because we got our dog in June and she had her visit. Then in November, we got a card saying our dog was due for her bi-annual visit and to get the kennel cough vaccine. We got busy around the holidays so I ignored it. I forgot about it until just now, and now I'm wondering if that was just a marketing ploy.
re the teeth cleaning. My dog had seriously nasty teeth when we got her. She hated the toothbrush, but fortunately they got better on their own - probably just from good food and care and now they look nice. I told the nurse there that, and she explained that even if the teeth look better, there could be gingivitus in the gums. It wasn't clear if they actually thought my dog had gingivitus. I was too worried about her eye to pay attention, and did not know what this deep cleaning thing even involved, but was just thinking they were going to brush her teeth, so I wasn't really paying attention. Then when I found out the cost and what was actually involved, I stopped listening all together. I probably should have asked more questions.
My dog goes annually - bi-annually seems excessive. The vaccine for kennel cough is not necessary unless you board your dog. (and when I needed this done last minute for boarding we went to the humane society wellness clinic because they charge only for the vax, no extra office visit charge) For the teeth, it is true that they could have gingivitis but all of the vets I've been to are able to see if it's time for a dental by looking. I guess that just goes back to being able to trust your vet.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Annual wellness exam, and if we absolutely need the bordetella vaccine, we can get a tech appointment where you are only charged for the vaccine (because it is intranasal, not an injection).
My vet healed a foster's tail (after two other vets at the practice had tried other things that didn't work) by telling us to put sugar on it twice a day. So when she says we actually need something, I trust that we do.
You can also call vets and ask what their cost is for the annual exam, a fecal exam, a urinalysis, etc. Those things are pretty typical problems that you might see. I wouldn't base it totally on cost, but it can help.
And you can brush your dog's teeth with enzymatic toothpaste (CET) or spray with Petzlife and see if there is any more improvement.