Anesthesia’s role in minimizing the cost of veterinary care
In early 2024, a series of news articles was published from a diverse range of national news organizations detailing the rising cost of veterinary medicine.1-3 Individually and collectively, these articles paint a bleak financial picture of both where veterinary medicine currently stands and where the industry is headed.
For example, the price of urban veterinary services rose by 7.9% over the last year; it has risen 11% over the last two years, and has increased by 60% over the last decade (significantly higher than the average consumer price index).1-3 In dollar figures, Americans spent an estimated $38 billion in 2023 on healthcare related services for companion animals alone (up from $29 billion in 2019).3
The cause of these rising costs is multifactorial and includes rising demand, wage inflation stemming from labor shortages 21 (both veterinarians and veterinary technicians), corporate consolidation, veterinarian pay structure/incentives, and increased cost of medication, supplies, and equipment.1-3
Veterinary hospitals have responded to these changes by increasing the price of their services. As a result, many owners have had to make difficult choices regarding their pet’s healthcare. In fact, a USA Today survey found that “91% of pet owners have endured some level of financial stress because of pet care costs.”1 Compounding this problem is that, unlike in human healthcare, most veterinary patients are not covered by health insurance.
Recent estimates suggest that 95-97% of owners have not purchased pet insurance.1,2 As a result, the price of veterinary care is an out-of-pocket expense for the vast majority of pet owners.
In 2021, the ASPCA estimated that the average annual cost of owning one dog was around $1,400 and around $1,100 for one cat.2 That equates to roughly $100 per month per animal. While that figure seems both reasonable and manageable, it does not include commonly encountered one-time costs such as adoption fees and spay/neuter fees.
More importantly, this figure does not account for the cost of service if these animals become sick. Depending on the severity of the illness, the required diagnostics, and the required procedures, veterinary sick visits can range from $500 to thousands of dollars.1-3 In an extreme case, one patient at the author’s institution left the hospital after a three-week stay with a final bill totaling slightly more than $51,000.
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