One Saturday morning a few years ago my dog Clementine was not well. She would lose her balance and fall over whenever she tried to walk. She was lethargic and couldn’t keep food down. Her veterinarian referred her to a neurologist at an animal specialty hospital.
A Google search indicated the most likely cause of Clementine’s condition was idiopathic vestibular disease. It involves inflammation of the inner ear, which dogs (and humans) use for balance. During our consultation we shared our thoughts about the possibility of a vestibular episode with the neurologist. She ignored our opinion and wouldn’t comment. Indeed, she voiced no opinions about Clementine’s condition other than to recommend a $3,500 MRI. She then left the exam room never to return. When we refused an MRI without further discussion (and would not leave) a vet tech came and talked to us.
At its core the doctor/patient relationship is an information exchange. In passing the vet tech mentioned his dog too had suffered from a vestibular episode. That was our first clue the neurologist agreed with us that Clementine probably had idiopathic vestibular disease. Earlier when we specifically asked her about it she told us nothing. Why didn’t the neurologist discuss it with us? Probably because the standard therapy is to wait and see if it gets better. We left and did not get the MRI. Clementine was already improving by this time and was back to normal in a couple days. The neurology consultation provided no exchange of information, it provided nothing of value. It was little more than a sales pitch that we had to pay for.
While writing Why Your Vet Bill Is So High for The Atlantic, Helaine Olen said she was inundated with people who had similar complains about big vet bills. A UC Irvin professor took her sick dog Buster to a VCA clinic. After $8,000 in tests there was still no diagnosis. She went to another vet, one in private practice, who told her that Buster had cancer. She wondered why VCA veterinarians had not informed her despite all the tests.
Veterinary medicine is big business and private equity investors are taking notice. Medical spending on companion animals is up sharply and stands at nearly $40 billion annually. Private equity has poured more than $60 billion into veterinary investments since 2017. Investors are snapping up practices and raising prices. You may think you’re going to the same vet you’ve gone to for years. Then one day the prices are much higher, and you’re pressured to get more services than usual. You will probably never hear the practice was recently sold to a large corporation. The name on the sign did not change because investors know pet owners like to think their vet is independent, rather than answering to corporate owners. More from The Atlantic:
In the United States, corporations and private-equity funds have been rolling up smaller chains and previously independent practices. Mars Inc., of Skittles and Snickers fame, is, oddly, the largest owner of stand-alone veterinary clinics in the United States, operating more than 2,000 practices under the names Banfield, VCA, and BluePearl. JAB Holding Company, the owner of National Veterinary Associates’ 1,000-plus hospitals (not to mention Panera and Espresso House), also holds multiple pet-insurance lines in its portfolio. Shore Capital Partners, which owns several human health-care companies, controls Mission Veterinary Partners and Southern Veterinary Partners.
Veterinary-industry insiders now estimate that 25 to 30 percent of practices in the United States are under large corporate umbrellas, up from 8 percent a little more than a decade ago. For specialty clinics, the number is closer to three out of four.
Just like in human health care, research finds that private equity taking over Fluffy and Spot’s vet clinic isn’t always good news.
An extensive body of research shows that when private equity takes over a hospital or physician practice, prices and the number of expensive procedures tend to go up. A study found serious medical errors occur more frequently after private equity buys the hospital. Another study found that costs to patients rise, too, sometimes substantially.
There is nothing inherently wrong with private equity investors when they’re improving efficiency and boosting competition. However, our health care system is dysfunctional, which creates opportunities to game the system. Some of that disfunction spills over into vet care in my opinion. One thing that private equity seems good at is finding and testing the highest prices the market will bear. This is especially a risk when it comes to the health of loved ones like our pets. Pets cannot tell us what’s wrong and people think of their pets as family members. I want my doctor to work with me, keep me in good health and save me money whenever possible. I want the same in a veterinarian.
Read more at The Atlantic: Why Your Vet Bill Is So High