This Human Doctor Thinks Vet Med Is A Scam

[@DVMCellini]

For the record - while I vehemently disagree with this doctor's take on vet med, I absolutely do not support anyone - vet or otherwise - trying to call his office and bully or harass him. Please stick to communications online and keep it civil. This guy is a cardiologist and he does work to save people's lives I'm sure. - dvmcellini

[@RyanB257]

I have noticed both cardiologists and neurosurgeons have some of the biggest heads in all of human medicine. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad doctors, but their personalities are generally garbage. To take it a step further, they think their specialties are not even comparable to others, they are leaps and bounds more intelligent, they yell at staff constantly and look down on basically everyone else. I have some experience dealing with them, while not being a doctor or even a RN myself it can be quite intimidating and they make you feel inferior.

[@mcsauce3630]

@@RyanB257 Yeah it seems that many believe their discernment and intelligence in their field just applies to all of their observations outside of their field

[@RyanB257]

@ElizabethSanto22 Lmfao! Haven’t heard that one before, but yeah Neuro usually craps all over everyone. It’s alot funnier when it’s other doctors though. I don’t like when people “punch down” so to speak.

[@oldindependent3040]

I'm a DVM. Lab prices are way too high these days, and too many vets order unnecessary labs in order to run the bills up on clients. Veterinary medicine has gotten out of control in this regard.

[@311Dominique]

I think having a conversation with, would be very helpful. I think he is misinformed, on some topics. But I do think his heart is in the right place . Ppl are really struggling

[@ajs4148]

Vets and veterinary staff are so wildly under-appreciated and deal with horrific pet owners. My cat was in the hospital for 3 days with cholecystitis and I could not have been more grateful for the techs and veterinary ER staff that saved his life. He's difficult to treat because he's anxious and runs, but they were the kindest and most patient people I could have hoped would be caring for him. The cost was high to treat him, but it was worth every penny. Our little guy is home and healthy, thanks to that hospital and everyone working there. I'm fortunate that I could afford his care, but I never felt like the vets were trying to nickel and dime me along the way. Whatever our cat needed, he got, period. I trusted the veterinarians caring for him and it all turned out okay. Thank you both for what you do, I'm so incredibly grateful.

[@DailyDoseFromAmber]

Same with doctors. People who don't even own animals are going to them. People are horrible and I see them act horrible when I'm in the hospital. I know a lot of vet prices from working in vet offices and humane societies, they definitely over charge way above what they should. It's why a lot of people don't want pets, they want you to come in all the time and charge out of the arse.

[@laurengarcia1023]

It's kind of hilarious to see a human Dr. in the U.S. complain about being overcharged for vet care when ERs charge $20 for an aspirin. The corruption and overcharging for human healthcare in the U.S. is crazy. Vets of all kinds, in my experience, provide clearer and more compassionate care than I've unfortunately witnessed with sick human family members. It's a common joke in our house that we wish we could go to the vet than the doctor because they do a better job and are kinder, especially with end of life care. And vets who do work in low-income or rural areas usually go out of their way to reduce costs or provide care in a more cost-effective way to help owners who might be struggling financially but love their pets. It's so expensive to become a vet and run a clinic. Yes, prices have increased, but it's not because vets are trying to scam. It's because it costs more for them too. This cardiologist should start looking at itemized hospital bills for his own patients if he wants something to be horrified about.

[@ameliamartens6390]

Yea youd think that people going to medical school to treat other people would actually know how to communicate and be respectful to other people. But thats not the case a lot of the times.

[@lisakiesel635]

@@ameliamartens6390 I KNOW, right?!?! Does this cardiologist not have any common sense? He reiterates repeatedly that he can afford this bil, but is mad about the mark up in prices in general. I've worked in vet med for over 20 years - I've seen the likes of him far too often - complaining about the cost without fully understanding the reasoning behind nor being self aware in their own industry and/or office costs. I bet you dollar to a donut that he bitched about his bill to the receptionist (who, of course, had nothing to do with setting the prices) before finally paying then decided he'd vent about having to pay for services rendered. He asks how do people afford this... he's a wealthy doctor, no doubt, living in an affluent area where the prices will be higher. I worked in an affluent area in Brooklyn and our rent alone was $17,000/month. Obviously, our hospital had to make enough revenue for that, plus our salaries and all the other overhead costs, which is standard for EVERY business. You live in a wealthy area, you're going to pay more. The prices for some of the line items will be different in other parts of the city and DEFINITELY other parts of the country. Quest labs, which he references, is a 2.4 BILLION company... with a B, so they can certainly set prices with less mark up plus, they have more buying power for the test kits and/or test supply components (which all goes into the cost of the lab). They also have different pricing based on hospitals, sole proprietor businesses, and their stand alone brick and mortar walk in labs. So, this is a very poor comparison and is either meant to mislead his audience or he's ignorant of the facts. I'm amused he's scoffing at the phlebotomy fee... hmm, I've seen a $45 charge a blood draw in my EOB insurance details and that's ONE person drawing the blood. It takes minimum two people drawing from an animal, three if they're feisty and four or more if they're REALLY feisty (not all animals can be sedated). As a cardiologist people (actually insurance companies) pay for your time and expertise - no different in vet med. He just likes to get paid for his expertise but doesn't want to pay others for theirs. Friendly dialogue - he says people who want to hide stuff are rude & want to insult others -- what the hell did he think his first video was? A sympathetic poem on veterinary medical costs? He called veterinarians scam artists - insult much? Insurance companies ruined human healthcare, it now dictates the quality of healthcare an individual will receive and what they can receive (without them paying additional out of pocket costs). If this were to happen in animal healthcare then people REALLY wouldn't be able to afford pets because insurance companied eventually drive the costs up. This man is ridiculous, get out of my face!

[@DailyDoseFromAmber]

I've had plenty of good doctor's plus from seeing how people treat doctors I'm surprised they're not worse. Vets definitely scam I worked for one so that's naive ASF to think cause someone communicated nicely and clearly to you doesn't have the ability to scam you. Usually those that scam are nice so you don't or won't believe they scam. I also worked at a humane society and if you knew how much the stuff costs them verse what they charge it's just as bad as doctors. I've had more problems with animals going to vets, nerve problems, getting sick, and dying younger verse not taking them but for rabies parvo and tet shot. Just like with everything it will come out and everyone who didn't believe will act like they weren't told prior and act shocked. So many lies are told to pet owners it's wild but just cause you point out one wrong doesn't mean you're dismissing any other wrong .....even if doctors are worse it shouldn't take from the wrong. vets are doing (not all vets are bad just like not all doctors are bad).

[@tigerfanfrv]

a MD bitching about cost?! dude makes 10x more than anyone at the vet office and he wants to bitch about cost?! I was charged AFTER insurance $200 for my exam with my oncologist. then $400 AFTER insurance for routine bloodwork. My immune therapy alone would have been 100k if insurance had not covered it. (i actually asked my doctor "what asshole makes these prices") i didn't look to see what the chemo cost. I was charged $20 for a can of ginger ale. and he's whining about being charged disposal fees. Human medicine is a scam.

[@ameliamartens6390]

I’m sure this guy doesn’t even know how much his patient pays for his own exams

[@greensorrel6860]

He is saying labs shouldn't cost that much. My vet tells me to get meds and supplements myself as they're so expensive there.

[@foolishlyfoolhardy6004]

​@@greensorrel6860 vets really don't want it to cost that much. I've never had a vet who didn't tell me when there was something I could get from my local pharmacy instead.

[@syddlinden8966]

Preach.

[@ariannasantina]

right? I dont know where he works or if he's looking at the costs of actual procedures or just gets his paycheck and doesnt think about it beyond that but every medical procudure ive ever seen is hundreds to thousands of dollars if you dont have insurance. My mom just had to pay like 600 dollars to go to the doctor cause she had a tooth infection and doesnt have insurance.. that was just to go get seen on an emergency appointment (it became an abscessed infection pretty much out of nowhere her whole face blew up) so that was just to get seen and evaluated and get antibiotics and pain meds . Then it was another 6 or 7 THOUSAND dollars after that out of pocket to go to the dentist and have the absessed tooth removed and debrided (she went to dr first to get the infection under control, then had it removed via the dentist while continuing antibiotics to make sure the pocket didnt get reinfected in the area where it was removed. She still hasnt gotten a new cap /tooth impant put in cause she cant afford it shes just walking around with an empty socket (thank god its her back molar so not like one of the visible teeth up front missing!)

[@VictoriouslyRandom]

When you're responsible for a living being, it costs money. His post perpetuates the attitude that people should be able to have animals without being financially responsible for maintaining their health by attempting to blame the vets. If you need specialized services, you have to pay for them.

[@Ravenspell3]

That's all good if you have it .

[@amullerdvm]

​@@Ravenspell3 owning a pet is not a need, it's a privilege

[@Ravenspell3]

There is always this discussion going on in the background on various posts. Not one of these people have ever thought about homeless. Who own pets who do the best? They can to take care of them. And it is because of those pets that they are alive. And yes, people deserve animals. And they deserve these pets and even if they don't have it. There are some programs that will help. These dogs are more therapy than psychologists. Many of the homeless people will starve rather than not feed their pets. There is always another side to this and it is not black and white.

[@krisniznik3953]

@@Ravenspell3 Sometimes that is true. I think a homeless person can probably take fine care of one dog which can provide them with companionship and a feeling of safety. It can interfere with them getting into housing though. However, I have fostered several cats from homeless encampments, and that is another story altogether. They are not healthy. It's not kind to keep a cat in those conditions. It takes a long time for them to recover to the point of being ready for a new home.

[@foolishlyfoolhardy6004]

​@Ravenspell3 look, I 100% believe there should be more help available for pets of the unhoused or people in DV situations. Pets are protective factor, people should not need to make a choice between getting safe and being with their loved ones... but this is where we are right now. It is a persons responsibility to their pet (or any dependent) to get in touch with what helps there are available, because sometimes best way to love your pet is to get back on your own feet. Unfortunately, that might mean your pet needs to go somewhere else for a while, or forever. If you care about them you will do that for them, because it's about what's best for those in your care. Not only us. If you want to change that support charities like Lucy's project, who give safe temporary places for animals to stay while the humans get themselves safe and back on their feet. Or other projects that try to keep animals and people together. I have dedicated my life to animals, but I cannot currently have a pet. I adored my cat, a foster win, he saved me, was my reason for living. However, I am no longer in a situation where he can be with me, bringing him here would not be best for him - and so he is somewhere else, with someone I know who is keeping me updated - but I know he will never come back to me. I love him more than anything, and because of that, I did that for him - not me. No matter what situation we are in, we are responsible for those dependent on us - children and animals both

[@janetseidlitz5976]

He fails to consider the overhead in a vet clinic and the lack of insurance negotiating prices. Human medicine is in terrible shape here in the US.

[@Bercuda]

Very true. 👍

[@Handle1309]

I am sure if investigated, you would see how many more freebees vets do more than human docs.

[@DailyDoseFromAmber]

Doctors have the same overload problem

[@ljr9365]

Only $67 for rabies vaccine. It cost me over $700 for a human rabies vaccine. Talk about mark up!!

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

😅😂😅 Seriously though.

[@vetreview2002]

I hope there is some form of law against such persons ( like defamation against veterinary industry). As a human physician he as ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT to talk about affordable human health care. Profit in veterinary industry is already too low. Maybe he should focus on making human healthcare affordable.😅

[@drbyrddvm]

I think one of the things that he missed is that the additional charge actually covers your fixed and operational costs. If bloodwork costs the vet $85 to run it at a lab the additional $125 is covering profit (yes) AND tech fee to draw blood + blood tubes + mailing the bloodwork + interpreting the bloodwork + electricity + the cost of the building + hazardous waste fees + needle + etc. For comparison, we charge $60 for a urinalysis on a dog, cat, rabbit, etc. My insurance was charged $500 for EACH urinalysis I had during my pregnancy (which was each OB appointment). It was the exact same test. Beyond that, our techs are often living at or below the poverty line. Our staff deserve living wages for the dangerous and arduous work they do and we literally cannot offer them that if we aren’t charging the owners.

[@DVMCellini]

you mean he left some important details out????? lol

[@drbyrddvm]

@@DVMCellini lmao

[@larryandjanicegregg2540]

Exactly. I have a 90 lb dog. Drawing blood takes two vet techs; one to distract at his head, one to draw blood. Sometimes if he's injured he needs sedation before any treatment. If stressed too far, he is a bite risk to staff. And he is generally a happy dog who likes people! Unlike a human you can't say "sit still while we draw some blood. It might hurt but only for a minute". You can't ask an animal where it hurts or how they feel. This MD is ridiculous. There is no parallel between veterinary medicine cost and human medicine which is heavily subsidized indeed. if he wants to fix something, he needs to first fix the abysmal state of human medicine in the US....or maybe just stick to fixing hearts. Leave our vets alone!

[@drbyrddvm]

@@larryandjanicegregg2540thank you for your response. The MD’s comments are frustrating and sentiments like his are easy to find. It’s incredibly uplifting to see the comments from clients who understand we’re on your team 💕

[@daviddip3947]

Not to mention that stuff is constantly breaking and we have to pay to repair something in the clinic at least monthly if we are lucky

[@gabynicolex]

Are we gonna talk about how you can’t go to your doctor for a “regular checkup” and also get a full metabolic work up for a medical concern in the same visit. Gotta wait and pay more for that one!

[@DVMCellini]

I don’t think so no. Jk I mean yeah good point.

[@PixieoftheWood]

Yeah, I appreciate how pet insurance doesn't have any rules like that. You get your pet the care they need, in how ever many or few visits you need it in, send in an itemized bill and a copy of any SOAP notes, and they let you know what they'll pay and send you money. It's simple, straightforward, and you can even read all the rules for the system they use to determine what they'll pay and calculate what it will be yourself.

[@foxiedogitchypaws7141]

​@like doubling the monthly copay? They get you in on the first year after that your co pay Doubles. You may be the only owner and have every exrays, blood work super great care With Soap reports going back the entire life of your pet, then they use that against you, 'if you love your pet that getting older' A good insurance company will not raise rates, cover the bills As Stated and will not claim pre existing when there is no pre existing in a illness that the pet never experienced before. It's better to start your new born pet off with a good vet, going on a regular basis,yearly blood work and pay the money to the vet on a monthly basis, the insurance would have gotten. By the way , people don't know what a "SOAP "report is that the insurance requires on the vet to do and some vets won't do it! PixieoftheWood

[@DailyDoseFromAmber]

​@@foxiedogitchypaws7141 These people have no intelligence at alllll. Pet insurance is expensive for one and some places won't give it to you if you have putties. I don't get the level of ignorance across the board😂

[@JohnAmidon-c6r]

Several years ago, my Setter came down with a chronic ear infection that my boss and I couldn't quite get on top of. I mentioned this in passing to my uncle, who was an MD and he gave me a script for a human otitis med called Vosol, basically an HCl suspension. He was sure this would fix the problem. After 2 applications that dogs ears blew up, with wicked irritation that took 10 days to bring under control. Total failure. Turns out the dog was allergic to a proprietary ear cleaner I was using; when I switched cleaners the problem disappeared. Human doctors (and, nurses) need to appreciate that human and animal physiology are different, and that what works for one won't necessarily work for the other. A tad more respect ftom the human medical community is in order.

[@foolishlyfoolhardy6004]

In my experience, vets will generally tell you when there's a human equivalent you can pick up for cheaper - the good ones anyway, but it's generally a bad idea to go rogue as you found out.

[@jennyg.1287]

as a vet tech - the way I see the markup from the lab work is the owner paying for the interpretation of that DVM once they receive it. same goes for send out radiographs - when the radiologist interprets the images. Can we talk about how in vet med a 2x markup is seen as "obscene" but in human med markups of 200-400% is common practice??

[@ameliamartens6390]

Yep. I can buy 100 ibuprofen for maybe $5 (probably less at Walmart or something but for easy math). Thats 5 cents per. And they will charge $20, so a 400x markup.

[@jennyg.1287]

@@ameliamartens6390 and the crazy thing is they won't let you bring your own ibuprofen

[@kathydaily6031]

I am sitting here with my husbands cardiologists bill in front of me! Total for a stress test was $1995.00!

[@annawell2517]

And one of my dogs had a heart test done by a cardiologist and it was $1200 🤷🏼‍♀️. Just to tell me the dog could die any day 🤷🏼‍♀️. She was one year old and died at age two. I believe they already knew just by listening to her heart even with out a test how bad it was. My Vet did say it was a 5 heart murmur , so at that point not much can be done, but this was the very dog I ever owned with such a bad heart condition, so it was all new to me 🤷🏼‍♀️. Looking back at it now i would never paid for any testing knowing the dog likely won’t live a long life. And thats exactly what the cardiologist told me. So if people/Vets would be more honest about this stuff so many people wouldn’t be stressed out because they don’t have the $$$ to do testing. Just give the Meds to help the pets out until it’s their time to go 😢 , and stop being greedy. It’s such a greedy world we live in when money is before caring about humans and animals. It’s not just veterinary or Drs it’s everything in life is only about $$$$ 😢😢😢. I realize most Vets don’t own their own clinics, so they don’t set the prices and are being paid like most other professionals. However everything is out of control nowadays.

[@kellydulli4866]

@annawell2517 The vet doesn’t know what medications to prescribe to help your pet without doing the tests. You are allowed to decline testing, but they can’t just guess instead of recommending appropriate treatment and testing, that isn’t ok. If you’ve been given appropriate recommendations and tell your vet you can’t afford them, then most vets will be able to present you with a cheaper plan B or C. But they can’t lead off by guessing what meds they think will work; it’s your right to know what the best treatment options are available for your pet.

[@PixieoftheWood]

@@annawell2517 On the other hand, I've now had two animals with heart murmurs and the one, with further testing, turned out to be a good candidate for a treatment that allowed her to live until she was 19 years old. The second they're still trying to assess since he was just diagnosed a month ago. My vet also told me it can be difficult to know for sure how much hope there is from listening alone, because the volume of the heart murmur alone doesn't always indicate how treatable it is when you don't know the cause.

[@foxiedogitchypaws7141]

​@@kellydulli4866A GOOD experienced vet can because years of treating other pets with same or similar health issues. It's the years of treating other pets knowing what works and what doesn't work unless the pet was poisoned, a broken bone or Cancer. Having a yearly blood work checkup to have a base line and seeing your vet on a regular basis stops the pet from having anxiety. They know their Dr and know as long as you show them they will be okey , the anxiety can be less.

[@annabelfield5634]

as someone who runs a veterinary diagnostic lab, this conversation has always fascinated me. I think a key distinction between human and vet labs is also the extra costs associated with paying for transportation for blood work to actually get to the lab in the first place, which is almost never mentioned lol

[@Deathrend8481]

I recently spent $1,000 on vet bills for my sick dog. The assumption was she'd swallowed something. That cost is my Vet, XRays, exam, ER Vet, Ultrasound, large amounts of blood tests, fluids, ultrasound, and other medications to make her feel better. At the exact same time, I broke my pinky. That was a $3,000 Xray at the hospital (My doctor doesn't have a machine anymore) alone. Insurance covered all but $600. That was a $600 fee for "Yep, it's broken". So many people refuse to spend a few hundred just to get their dogs vaccinated. Imagine if my $150 xray for my dog was $3,000 just to verify she didn't actually have something stuck. The Ultrasound was all of $80.

[@jan5558]

Let me guess, the American healthcare system?

[@suzytyler4793]

Recently, I thought my 10 lb dog may have inhaled a foxtail into her nostril. She was sneezing repeatedly, intermitently. My vet agreed to fit her in as a drop off. She told me late that afternoon, several hours later, that she was concerned about putting her under anesthesia. She said my dog has a heart murmur and her advanced age, 14 years, and small size, 10 lbs, make it more dangerous. I gave her permission to do so. In order to look deeply into her sinuses, she did need to use anesthesia. A bad tooth fell out while exploring, she told me, and she did look but didn't visually see a foxtail, so she quickly brought her out of the anesthesia. The vet suggested the sneezing was because of the tooth. $372 invoice. I brought my dog home but the sneezing got worse and became reverse sneezing or wheezing/coughing. I decided to get a second opinion from a vet in another town. This vet put her under anesthesia and x-rayed her heart and chest but not her throat or sinuses because she said she wouldn't be able to see a foxtail with an x-ray. She told me my dogs heart was 3x normal size but fortunately there was no fluid build up in her chest like you would expect from congestive heart failure, prescribed a medication to help her with her enlarged heart. She told me her enlarged heart was probably making it difficult for her to breathe and the only way to see if it was a foxtail would be via ultrasound and that would cost in the neighborhood of $1200 to $1500 plus any treatment deemed necessary. I paid the $750 invoice and took my dog with her prescription home. The meds did nothing to relieve the congestion and coughing. Benadryl seemed to help when her congestion was really bad but the vet said there was no explanation for why Benadryl would be useful. The prescription meds that she hated taking weren't helping. Every effort I made to give it to her was violently rebuked to the point she would hide from me under the bed. After 30 days, I surrendered. I had already spent $4000 on my other little guy for emergency bladder surgery, x-rays and ultrasounds to determine why he wasn't eating well. He passed away from inoperable cancer of the liver. I figured her enlarged heart was a consequence of something like cancer, too, and I wasn't going to do any histrionics to save her. I stopped the medication, gave her Benadryl when her breathing became too difficult, massaged her throat and babied her. 5 months after her first vet visit, I thought I was losing her. Her breathing was awful, she coughed off and on all night. I was preparing to take her in for that "last visit" at the vets. I just needed to spend one more day with her to hold her and love her. The next morning, she was better. Each day she coughed less. I had to leave in a short 3 day business trip so I hired someone to care for her while I was gone. I came home and she was her old, frisky self. No coughing at all. She's still doing great. I think I was right. She had something stuck in her sinuses and that really bad night it was dislodging itself and moving further down, temporarily blocking her breathing. I spent over $1000 to be told by two vets they didn't see anything and didn't believe it was a foxtail but I think I was right all along. I could tell you about my 7 month old Dane mix who became extremely ill and was diagnosed at the emergency vet with Parvo despite his full series of puppy shots, rarely having nose to nose or nose to tail connection with other dogs since we have no dog parks or sidewalks in our town. That cost me $1500 in vet bills for home treatment after quoting me $7000 to keep him in house for 4 days while they treated him. He spent hours in the clinic while I was required to sit in my car for 2 of those hours because I might be contaminated and a spreader of Parvo. When I finally was allowed to take him home he walked in the house and drank water for the first time since the day before. I offered him some cooked chicken and he ate it for the first time in two days. I couldn't help but wonder if he had been drinking and eating for them,as well. I saved $6000. So, yes. I have some questions about how competent some of our vets are and whether we are being priced gouged and/or taken advantage of. I love my dogs and want to do what's best but the vet bills are no longer very affordable and the diagnosis is not always helpful, at least not where I live. Is it a scam? No, I don't think so. I don't know what it is.

[@cassiec2519]

I would like to see him draw blood from his cat, without the cat drawing blood from him first…..

[@YTStoleMyUsername]

😂😂😂

[@aprilgraciete]

Private practice owners are struggling to make a profit. If these markups are a scam, and the profits aren’t going to the techs, staff, vets, or practice owners, who is getting this money? Even though I am an apparent scam artist, I struggle to afford my husband’s cardiologist for his life threatening condition. The human healthcare model should not be our goal. Maybe Dr. Levine would provide free care for my husband since he does not charge for his services.

[@bnaseams]

Veterinary internal medicine resident in academia here. People do not realize how much cheaper veterinary medicine is relative to human medicine, and a lot of that is because of insurance. My dad had this belief until he had to have surgery recently (he’s doing great now). The cost of him in hospital one day post-op with no major complications was the same as, if not slightly more, than what it costs me to hospitalize, work-up, and treat a critical DKA over one week.

[@danbaron2561]

As long as veterinary care is cheaper than medical care for people, no one should complain, right?!! 😂

[@zsoltvaradi8387]

Also a Total T4 is a lot less expensive than a fT4 ED! I think he was comparing his price of a tT4 to a fT4ED a vet used in his example!

[@ashleymcgilly5022]

That's what I thought too....

[@katieh837]

He says he understands that techs are underpaid but in the same breath says there shouldn’t be a markup for labs! who draws, stores, and handles the samples and makes sure they are properly shipped to the lab? He scoffs at charges for venipuncture and cystocentisis. Who does that? It really shows how shallow those words are.

[@ShibaInuGoddess]

What does he mean by charge services we didn't do? If we don't take a radiograph of your pet, we don't charge you for it. He definitely should have done some sort of research before he started saying all this BS. Each procedure takes more than one person to do it. Also meds as you mentioned.

[@brooke2828]

You can't have a pet and expect veterinary services to be free or below cost. Its called being financially responsible. its like buying a car and complaining about the cost of mechanic fees and fuel, expecting them to fix it for bare minimum cost.

[@coolgirl21]

As a human hospital bedside nurse as well as as an owner of two dogs, I feel the costs of the vet bill (at least the clinic that take my dogs to for vet care) are more transparent than in human medicine. Like what was mentioned, I do get an estimate before treatments get done and I was for sure I always have the right to refuse whatever I don't want. There are no surprises. Yes it can be costly but that is what it takes to take care of pets. If I wanted less, I could shop around and go to low costs clinics, etc. But I do feel the clinic I take my dogs to the quality is just excellent and the cost has been lower than previous clinics I've been to (I do drive 17 miles though to get there even though there are hundreds of other clinics closer to me). In human medicine at the hospital I work at since covid times we've designated a few rooms on each floor of the hospital as "shadow rooms" in which we squeeze two patients in a room meant for 1 to create more space. the space between the beds is TINY! All the equipment and lighting is meant for 1 and we had to be creative to make it usable for 2 people. And when people being admitted into the room, they are not told ahead of time they will be squeezed into a room like that. They often don't get a choice. AND I was told they get billed as if they had their own private room. Imagine that kind of sticker shock.

[@scifirocks]

Does he not understand the concept of a markup? It's something that exists in every kind of business- if you buy a t shirt you don't pay just the cost of producing the garment, you also pay for the costs of the shop, the staff, taxes and a markup for the shop to make a profit.

[@doreenschreiber8155]

My initial visit for a cat to a veterinary neurologist in Ohio was $216. She spent a lot of time with me and my cat. The follow up visit was $158. I thought this was incredibly reasonable and affordable.

[@snowps1]

What year was that?

[@edschulhof6303]

The corporate takeover of veterinary practices and clinics, especially by Mars Candy, is not helping people's perception of veterinary care. And it is raising the cost.

[@edschulhof6303]

@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 In the US, Mars is buying veterinary practices and clinics. They own two of the largest clinics, VCA and Banfield. Mars also owns 43% of all pet food sales. They own Evo, Cesar, Eukanuba, IAMS, Nutro, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Orijen and Acana, among others.

[@edschulhof6303]

@@foolishlyfoolhardy6004 In the US, Mars is buying veterinary practices and clinics. They own two of the largest clinics, VCA and Banfield. Mars also owns 43% of all pet food sales. They own Evo, Cesar, Eukanuba, IAMS, Nutro, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Orijen and Acana, among others.

[@petdoctor3]

I agree. Mars and all the corporate practices are criminals. Corporate practices charge way TOO much.

[@GuruishMike]

Are you sure he's not a human chiropractor?

[@DVMCellini]

He's a cardiologist so he practices actual real medicine :)

[@calliemtb]

@@DVMCellini perhaps not a critically thinking doc though....

[@janethenderson4365]

If there were outside labs that took blood on pets, I imagine that the total cost to the client would increase dramatically. We would need to fund more spaces, more personnel, more equipment, licensing, insurance, utilities, etc. etc….

[@rosamquinones5428]

Last I feel bad for his patient of just how ignorant he is as a huuuman doctor!

[@epic1tmk]

I've been going to Quest for years to get my thyroid levels checked and I have to pay Quest $60+ AFTER insurance. So I'm not really sure where his claim of Quest only charging $28 is coming from

[@sophiariley4743]

“Go grow your own cow” 😭😭😂😂 Incredible

[@jackaboyx3]

Always love the guest appearance of Dr. Elizabeth Roy. Absolutely love hearing from her too!

[@DVMCellini]

She’ll love hearing that!

[@rosamquinones5428]

And what the lab is going to restrain dogs and cats to get the blood and pass the charges to the client of having a technician and a doctor in staff to get the blood draw?

[@doreenschreiber8155]

I have 8 cats. The most I've ever had is 11. They get all their regular check ups, vaccines, lab tests, and see veterinary specialists when necessary. I do not use pet insurance. In order for the veterinarians to make the best diagnosis and prescribe treatment I ask they do all necessary tests they feel will give them all the pieces of the puzzle. I have never had a vet do a test just to make more money. And none have ever billed me extra when they call me after their normal hours to give me test results and prescribe treatment. Care Credit has made vet care for me a lot more affordable. Dr. Levine is doing more harm than good to vets and pet owners with misleading statements.

[@heroest11]

In my opinion a lot of this mentality comes from not knowing the insights of what it takes to run a business. In human medicine it is the insurance companies that tell them how much to charge up. I have called multiple doctors for different things and when I ask how much something will cost the answer is always "depends on your insurance" because that will depend on how much you pay yourself at the end of the day. They can't really tell you how much you will have to pay but at vet they can tell you so you just have to call around if you can't afford the services. I remember the trend on tik tok of people posting how much the hospital charged them for having a baby and it was insane the amount of mark up they had just for little things.

[@DVMCellini]

A lot of times (that i've seen) physicians think their expertise in one field applies to everything in life.

[@Zhahn-Pam]

I am a dog trainer, have been since 1969. I have 8 dogs 2 are re-homes and the 6 are rescues. I preform a lot of vet procedures on my dogs. I know what I am doing, When I am not sure , off to see the doc. My vet hospital has 2 highly trained doctors. and they only charge $50 for an office visit that includes the exam and emergency visits are only $175. He says that he can afford it as he is a doctor. He makes big money and obviously doesn't have respect for vets. He does see vets as REAL doctors. Most vet have a much higher levels of training than most human docs. My vets do everything that they can to help me. They are fully aware of the procedures that I do on my animals. I am often complimented on my stapling and suturing. I video what I do to my dogs and take them into see the their docs. T The vets tell me that my techniques are very good. The vets often GIVE me expired antibiotics to help me with the medical costs. So how are my vets making getting rich? Just a few questions human doc, how much do you charge to say hello to your human patients? Are you aware there are human docs who have who tried to cut it in vet medicine and failed? Why? because vet school is It is just to hard. Is he aware that there is a thing called overhead and payroll that comes out of the vet's pocket? This guy obviously has zero respect for the incredible skills that a vet has. My vet only charges $50 for an office visit and initial exam. An emergency visit is only $175. My doctor charges $245 to sit in the office and wait up to 30 minutes to see her. I have 8 dogs, and 2 cat, 4 chickens. I preform most of their vet procedures. My vet knows that I know what I am doing. If I have an issue that I don't know about I am at my vets office. He has complimented me several times on my stapling and suturing. my vet bends over backwards to help me. So where is the money coming from to pay the techs more? This guy is full of pig shi**. So why is he not being paid the same as the vets. Who require many times the training that a human doctor requires. I would love to see him single-handedly collect urine, or listen to the heart of an unhappy feline, an uncooperative Con Corso or the 4 pound demons from hell the Chihuahuas.

[@BeachLover6571]

DVM here. I find it hard to believe that lab only charges $20 for a T4. My son with Down syndrome has a Free T4 and TSH run every six months. Without insurance, it would be $800. He’s full of bull. Also, I don’t know of one veterinarian in our area that doesn’t have in-house blood machines.

[@DVMCellini]

All great points

[@serenapudelski3958]

No one is going to his office to cry about the vet. He said multiple times that he misses the old-school vets. The ones who never did actual diagnostics and just threw meds at animals. Also, forgetting that until 1993 animals weren’t even given pain meds after surgery.

[@AlienKissy]

You should get this guy on for a video! I feel like he is coming off a bit confusing but beneath it I think he MIGHT actually have something interesting to say in conversation form....especially if he has someone like you to explain some things with a level head. P.S. your wife's reactions are hilarious 🤣

[@DVMCellini]

I’m emailing back and forth with him. Trying to.

[@Barbara-te7xz]

I've had honesty and dishonest vets just as I've had honest and dishonest doctors and dentists. I'm not talking about high cost either. I'm talking about upselling unnecessary procedures, vaccinations and tests. And hmo doctors not signing off on necessary things because it would likely be coming out of their allotment.

[@amyeastman8764]

I’d LOVE to sit down and talk to this man as a person who has worked in the veterinary field for almost 30 years. I have some thoughts and he could really learn something from me.

[@KyleMatt11]

Listen, when you buy a boat u go into it knowing your going to be responsible for additional expenses such as insurance, fuel, dock fees, winterization and dry dock, property tax, etc. If you’re not prepared to pay those additional expenses, then you’re not prepared to buy a boat. Same goes for pets, your not forced to own a pet but when you do you go into knowing you are going to be responsible for other things, including the cost of their healthcare, and if it’s Something that’s going to be a hardship well then your not ready for a pet. It’s as simple as that. When I got a dog I took Dr Cellini’s advise and put $10,000 into a high yield account and only touch it for my dogs health care (including his $15,000 surgery to have his gallbladder removed😮)

[@danbaron2561]

🥹 😅 😂 🤣 🥲 😀

[@takarasights]

I do think it would be a positive change for doctors and vets to post prices online. I get that it’s itemized before you actually purchase, but that’s after initial exam. I’m sure there would be a lot of complication that I don’t know the scope of in doing this, but as a consumer, being able to compare prices, or even just prepare for costs, beforehand would help me greatly.

[@jamesboone3678]

Are there bad vets? Absolutely. Are the majority of them good? Yes. My best friend is a veterinarian. My dog tore her cruciate ligament. I took my little girl Yanni to a vet my mom used to go to, he told me its arthritis and that I'll need a shot for her leg every month for $200 a month. I had a gut feeling and sent over the X-rays to my best friend. She told me to bring her in, and they confirmed it was her muscles. She got surgery, and now we are in recovery. I've been wanting to change my career for a while now. I think I'm going to go to vet school soon. It really touched my heart that people care so much about my girl more than I do. They were patient with me asking all the millions of questions, and they were loving her to death while talking to me. You guys are my heros.

[@amullerdvm]

And btw, when I got in the US I didn't have insurance and I went to the gynocologist because I was pregnant. My bill ended up being 750 dollars for a 5 minute talk, a urine pregnancy test and CBC. 750 DOLLARS AND I DIDNT EVEN GET AN EXAM. So....

[@mommachupacabra]

Oh. IDEXX. In an accounting office, and I HATE IDEXX statement entry. Also the vets office is charged for the tests. The testing equipment. The vials and reagents. Quarterly coverage fees for the testing equipment. Also lets talk about the software fees in billing. Accounting. Office payroll. Whee, Impromed. Vet offices have no government supports and have to manage their staff, offices, overhead, utilities, security, etc...

[@serenapudelski3958]

I listened to the round table podcast. The utter rage I feel as a veterinary technician is guttural. He has NO clue how our job works or how business works. Let alone in the comments says he can examine cats because he’s read books …… red flag. The biggest red flag 😭😭🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@DrJSuciu]

Listening to this man makes me grab that Maropitant vial! How superficial can he be when it comes to assessing our work? Honestly he needs to come around a in a vet practice/clinic/hospital and see how our work is being done and the challenges that we face! The amount of time and money we have spent on our education. What does he expect??? That we should do things for free? Does he practice cardiology for free? On what planet does this man live? There are so many things that I want to say about this but the more I think of it the more my blood pressure goes up!!! In the end just want to ask… how much a vet cardiologist earns compared to a human cardiologist??? Thank you dear colleagues for standing up for our profession!!!

[@Finkeldinken]

I mean, if I lived in the US and had a big vet bill and then also had too foot a big bill + the stress for seeing a cardiologist, I would maybe be crying in their office, but trust me, the vet bill would not be the issue - it would be the weight of it all. I have definitely cried because of vet bills, but that is not a reflection on the vet - it's because I have a tight enough economy for it to just keel over with any big bill. I'm lucky enough to have tax payed health care, and honestly the only thing that usually goes through my mind at "normal" vet bills here - and the pet insurance industry that is growing here - is "Dang, I'm glad I don't get the direct bills for my own healthcare, I wouldn't stand a chance." I really, really hope that you can get this Doctor on a call - maybe even with a few docs and a few vets and hash all this out. I think this dude is being really rude. Pretty sure he doesn't know a thing about MARS, for example. And maybe talk about the actual prices of equipment, for example. Also #notonemorevet - he might learn a bit about vets ans the field there too. I appreciate that he is trying to advocate for those of us with a tight household economy, but it feels to me like he is doing a lot more harm than good here. Thank you to both of you!

[@lordfumblesquid]

Vet care is actually extremely cheap when you compare it to human medicine. The cost of hysterectomy for dogs is around $600, but for humans you're lucky to get it done for $10,000

[@doggonenomads]

First off, thank you for what you two do! With regards to the subject on labs, I think what he's getting at is that he's wondering what value the veterinarian added to the lab work part of the transaction. The vet charged for the consultation, the blood work, and any other services they provided. Then, they sent the blood off to an external lab, and it looks like they marked up the lab fees by 100% on a separate charge (correct me if I am wrong). Since the vet and their staff weren't directly involved in the lab work itself, he's questioning why they're charging a 100% markup on something they didn't do. With regards to the free market comment and going price shopping if we don't agree with pricing, I agree with that comment, but as you stated almost all vets do this so that would make the point moot. Thanks again for your video, I agree with every other point you stated as he was clearly comparing apples and oranges!

[@flufwix]

This doctor is nuts. Doctors, labs and hospitals constantly charge ridiculous prices. Insurance doesn’t cover enough.

[@serenapudelski3958]

My annual bloodwork at a human hospital was $3000. 😢

[@janinasaam]

I come from Germany and a friend of mine needs an operation and insurance doesn't cover for it. She will end up paying 30k. So saying that human medicine isn't expensive is bs. We just don't get to see all the costs, that are there, because insurance covers for it. I mean look at the USA, people there pay a lot to just go to the doctor. And everything costs money. When I go for a checkup with my dog, there are three people in the room. And one person in the waiting room. They all need to get paid for their time. And they need to pay rent for the place. And everything they use costs too, because you often cannot reuse it due to hygiene

[@floofycow3575]

Wow... It's almost like vet med doesn't have the same amount of separation human medicine does or any insurance that covers for upfront costs... I hate human doctors, they're so detached from the actual economy because it's all just insurance paying for inflated prices for vital medical procedures. I doubt human doctors know the actual price of the things they prescribe/do for people, they can solely focus on patient care and not how much it costs. Half of vet med is bending over backwards to make their care affordable and give the best options for a budget. It's not easy, sick of it.

[@rissa1048]

I love my local vet. She’s open and honest about what she believes would be a good idea to do or not to do in regard to your animal, but still leaves the decision up to the owner. When I go to my doctor and need to have blood drawn it’s actually cheaper for me to pay for it directly than to go through my insurance. I have a high deductible plan and that doesn’t cover lab work, so getting labs done through insurance can cost $2-300. Paying for it directly costs me less than $100. My doctor was actually the one who suggested I do it this way since insurance is ridiculous and doesn’t want to cover anything.

[@tiger66667]

According to recent compensation surveys, Vets on average make less than pharmacists, but now all prices are increasing.

[@KristiBranstetter]

I disagree with the cardiologist. Without vets, our furbabies wouldn't be here. I have seen many vets save pets.

[@maureengilligo1960]

True

[@alifarr23]

Clearly this human doctor has not seen or looked at a bill from a hospital stay or procedure in detail , of course things are marked up in human med- this is similar to blaming the clinician for that. It doesn’t make any sense. It is also gross to imply veterinarians are responsible for eroding the human animal bond by trying to make a living wage. Or that vets are the reason animals are in shelters - no way. If he’s so concerned about how other people less fortunate than him can afford veterinary care, he would have done more research or at least planned out what he wanted to say because he comes across as disorganized and very uninformed 😬 He’s pushing for regulation … but from who ? and who is going to pay to structure and implement that ?

[@LeGenDxKaOtiK]

I support implementing the Stark law in vet med because I do think it's wrong that a doctor would have a financial incentive to order unnecessary tests for a patient. Obviously it costs money to draw the blood or collect the urine and send it to the lab and dispose of the needles etc etc...but that cost should be separate on the bill in my opinion (some of it already is) even if the overall cost doesn't come down, just so it can be more transparent.

[@mmbkay0758]

I LOVEEEEEE that you mention the bit about markups in restaurants...people have no problem paying $14 for 1oz of alcohol from a 24oz bottle that cost the restaurant $32....Make it. Make. Sense. The world RUNS ON MARKUPS.

[@kibostomy]

Also remember when you to the lab there is a lab fee but then when I have bloodwork done, I have to go back to the doctor and pay for another appointment to have them go over the bloodwork. Whereas the lab work is inclusive of all the time and staff that goes into everything from the blood draw to the interpretation of the results

[@ChrisCapoccia]

good luck price shopping for any people care. no one price shops for cardiac care because no one can see the total price for any reasonably complex situation in advance

[@larryandjanicegregg2540]

Whereas before any treatment my vet gives me an itemized quote with a high and low range. Even a wellness exam gets a quote ahead of time so there is never any sticker shock. I've NEVER had that from a human doctor. The bills I get after the fact are generally confusing and difficult to parse.

[@janezia404]

16:14 I'm only halfway through and I'm completely annoyed by this guy. He's completely unprofessional, making tiktok videos to complain about the cost of vet care?? I do A LOT of communicating with my dog's vets outside of the office visit. If an irregular value shows on a blood test they're going to call me to discuss (after reading the labs, mind you). How does he think the overhead of a business is paid for? Operating expenses? Hello. I have nothing but the utmost respect for veterinarians, it's a difficult job. Thank you both for everything you do 💕

[@serenapudelski3958]

No one is entitled to a pet. Don’t have any if you can’t pay for the care it needs

[@danbaron2561]

"No one is entitled to own a pet."

[@StephanieStoudt-uv8nv]

I just saw an hour long discussion on this where a vet and two techs from a clinic interviewed this guy! He was obnoxious.

[@republicveterinaryhospital9626]

The cardiologist clearly *cashes* his pay checks, he has never *written* pay checks.

[@WahiniJen]

By the way, a prophylactic rabies vaccine series (2 vaccines) for humans is around $500 in our area. I know this because our students entering Vet Tech school are mandated to have these, and they are expensive! California RVT here.

[@drbyrddvm]

Great point, I paid over $1000 to get rabies vaccinated before vet school. I have a client who was bitten by a cat with rabies. He doesn’t have insurance and ONE of the three Postexposure prophylaxis treatments cost him $60k.

[@ZaryaTheLaika]

Yes, this

[@sunny-gk2mi]

I agree, vet bills are off the charts. It's getting so people can't afford a pet anymore, let alone rescue a sick or injured animal.

[@amym7046]

May he be blacklisted by every clinic in his county.

[@Jfre2]

Do vets charge too much? Yes! To the point where many animals go without care or die because of it.

[@suzytyler4793]

Recently, I thought my 10 lb dog may have inhaled a foxtail into her nostril. She was sneezing repeatedly, intermitently. My vet agreed to fit her in as a drop off. She told me late that afternoon, several hours later, that she was concerned about putting her under anesthesia. She said my dog has a heart murmur and her advanced age, 14 years, and small size, 10 lbs, make it more dangerous. I gave her permission to do so. In order to look deeply into her sinuses, she did need to use anesthesia. A bad tooth fell out while exploring, she told me, and she did look but didn't visually see a foxtail, so she quickly brought her out of the anesthesia. The vet suggested the sneezing was because of the tooth. $372 invoice. I brought my dog home but the sneezing got worse and became reverse sneezing or wheezing/coughing. I decided to get a second opinion from a vet in another town. This vet put her under anesthesia and x-rayed her heart and chest but not her throat or sinuses because she said she wouldn't be able to see a foxtail with an x-ray. She told me my dogs heart was 3x normal size but fortunately there was no fluid build up in her chest like you would expect from congestive heart failure, prescribed a medication to help her with her enlarged heart. She told me her enlarged heart was probably making it difficult for her to breathe and the only way to see if it was a foxtail would be via ultrasound and that would cost in the neighborhood of $1200 to $1500 plus any treatment deemed necessary. I paid the $750 invoice and took my dog with her prescription home. The meds did nothing to relieve the congestion and coughing. Benadryl seemed to help when her congestion was really bad but the vet said there was no explanation for why Benadryl would be useful. The prescription meds that she hated taking weren't helping. Every effort I made to give it to her was violently rebuked to the point she would hide from me under the bed. After 30 days, I surrendered. I had already spent $4000 on my other little guy for emergency bladder surgery, x-rays and ultrasounds to determine why he wasn't eating well. He passed away from inoperable cancer of the liver. I figured her enlarged heart was a consequence of something like cancer, too, and I wasn't going to do any histrionics to save her. I stopped the medication, gave her Benadryl when her breathing became too difficult, massaged her throat and babied her. 5 months after her first vet visit, I thought I was losing her. Her breathing was awful, she coughed off and on all night. I was preparing to take her in for that "last visit" at the vets. I just needed to spend one more day with her to hold her and love her. The next morning, she was better. Each day she coughed less. I had to leave in a short 3 day business trip so I hired someone to care for her while I was gone. I came home and she was her old, frisky self. No coughing at all. She's still doing great. I think I was right. She had something stuck in her sinuses and that really bad night it was dislodging itself and moving further down, temporarily blocking her breathing. I spent over $1000 to be told by two vets they didn't see anything and didn't believe it was a foxtail but I think I was right all along. I could tell you about my 7 month old Dane mix who became extremely ill and was diagnosed at the emergency vet with Parvo despite his full series of puppy shots, rarely having nose to nose or nose to tail connection with other dogs since we have no dog parks or sidewalks in our town. That cost me $1500 in vet bills for home treatment after quoting me $7000 to keep him in house for 4 days while they treated him. He spent hours in the clinic while I was required to sit in my car for 2 of those hours because I might be contaminated and a spreader of Parvo. When I finally was allowed to take him home he walked in the house and drank water for the first time since the day before. I offered him some cooked chicken and he ate it for the first time in two days. I couldn't help but wonder if he had been drinking and eating for them,as well. I saved $6000. So, yes. I have some questions about how competent some of our vets are and whether we are being priced gouged and/or taken advantage of. I love my dogs and want to do what's best but the vet bills are no longer very affordable and the diagnosis is not always helpful, at least not where I live. Is it a scam? No, I don't think so. I don't know what it is.

[@ariannasantina]

The ONLY issue i have with prices or payments in vet care is when you have a pet thats litearlly in an emergency situation where every second counts and they wont start doing any treatment until you pay them a 'deposit' of what can be literally thousands of dollars depending on the issue. I lost my service dog last year , she needed emergency surgery and at that point they pretty much have you in a blackmail situation because we love our pets... our pet is dying and im on the phone trying to move funds around to get the money to pay them a deposit... Its like they dont trust people to pay their bills? When someonese pet is dying isnt the time to be hounding them for money and holding it over their head. Do the procedure, invoice it, send me the bill, i will pay it off. My dog had to have a 15 THOUSAND dollar surgery and they expect you to come up with the money on the spot. I dont even understand how a lot of people do gofundmes for their pets because our vets never even give us TIME to set up a gofundme and come up with the money. i dont know if this is common practice, but the vets in our area at least have been like this. This happened with my service dog who passed away 2 days after christmas 2022, (we did come up with the money and do the surgery, but she still did not make it :( ) and happened as well with my cat when he needed surgery for a urethral blockage. (Cats surgery was thru our regular vet and the dog was taken to emergency vet so this is 2 different vets doing the same thing thats why im not sure if its common practice...) I just feel like its a really scummy thing to do to someone. I get the vets need to get paid for their work, but they should also care about animals... letting an animal die when you could do something because the owner cant come up with 15 grand out of nowhere is messed up. Human doctors have a duty of DO NO HARM and i believe the same should apply to vets. (i believe Doing nothing when an animal is brought to you in need is tantamount to the same as doing harm imo. ) So in short, i dont neccesarily care what the price is (within reason obv) i get having to mark things up and understand them needing to charge to make a living; They do gods work when they DO save an animal- my dog didnt make it but it wasnt for lack of them trying and they DID do a great job monitoring her and the vet after she passed stayed with us and talked with us for almost 3 hours as we grieved. I know they go thru a lot in their jobs and it can be a stressful job that deserves to be well paid. but expecting large payments up front (while holding your pets life in their hands over your head) especially for emergent situations that can be a LOT of money isnt okay. Send me a bill. Work with us to make a payment plan, something like that yknow?

[@estherwisse]

I dont know how it is in the US, but where I'm from, a vet has to pay taxes on everything they do (21%), while human medicine doesn't have to. So on the whole bill, 21% taxes is added (9% for perscriped medicication to take home). In human medicine, no taxes is added as long as it serves a therapeutic perpose. This automatically makes their prices cheaper. Even if we would charge the exactly the same for their services, a vet would automatically be more expensive (because of the free market, vets also pay free market taxes).

[@ChrisCapoccia]

this cardiologist should know that rabies has an affinity for heart cells, and by the time you can detect myocarditis and arrhythmias, it's nearly always fatal

[@parley1994]

Sure, veterinary medicine is expensive. Im still paying off a care credit bill for a bilateral TPLO surgery that my dog had a little over a year ago. But its not the vet's fault it was so expensive. The equipment to do that kind of surgery is very expensive, plus all the tests and stuff they had to do to make sure she would do okay under anesthesia. It is going to cost them a lot to do an operation like that. So, it was necessary for them to charge me a lot. And, in many clinics that veterinarian also owns the practice. So they have to worry about the cost of owning a business. That wasn't the case with me. I actually went to a VCA clinic that had an orthopedic specialist. But it is the case for a lot of clinics.

[@albedougnut]

Most healthcare for pets in the US is aleady way cheaper than healthcare for people, but there are also some pet insurance companies that have pretty cheap plans with great coverage (just make sure to thoroughly research them). Even if you end up never needing it, it can give you the peace of mind that you will be able to afford medical emergencies. And even if you do not end up needing it, then it still helps to reduce the cost of coverage for other people who need to use the insurance for their own pets. The big thing is that you get the insurance before your pet develops a condition or gets into an accident in order to prevent higher premiums.

[@reganhulvey4213]

DUDE this guy is pissing me off does he not see how expensive HUMAN medical bills are??? My vet exam fee is $85. My annual exam fee (without bloodwork etc) is more like $250. I can’t with this guy 😂🤡

[@LeGenDxKaOtiK]

You ask if he doesn't see how expensive human medicine bills are AFTER he says his hospital stay cost him 158K??? How does that make any sense?

[@maybeforgetful4732]

I had to price shop for my cats spay. I found someone charging a total of 700 total. I would never do that. I ended up going to a place where the total for everything was around 70

[@SixOhFive]

Exactly!

[@juliaswicked]

He's right, it needs to be regulated.

[@narrgamedesigner2747]

Insurance pet companies increase Thier premiums and increases it if you make a claim which is wild as it may stop people getting treatment for their pet. This could lead to people complaining about the prices. This guy maybe doesn't have to worry about his vet bills. But it will spoke people when they see the final bill. We can talk about how the old guy is exaggerating or misleading but the pricetag will still shock people who may not be able to afford that care.

[@amlgandolfo]

I’m disabled & lived on a fixed income (SSDI), crying about vet bills while living on a fixed income is a real thing. The elderly in this country live on fixed incomes, so check your privilege!

[@gianttigerfilms]

Then have the government subsidize the field other than the over inflated military

[@amlgandolfo]

@@gianttigerfilms i believe all education should be free.

[@gianttigerfilms]

@@amlgandolfo we'd definitely have more veterinarians if education was free, I'm with you

[@Jayrah7]

I have to agree with the doctor here. I'm not a vet or doctor, but I do run my own business. In a lot of fields, doing a massive markup on a service that you didn't do is heavily frowned upon and will make customers angry. I sell paintings, so I get a lot of people who don't understand the cost of that business. That said, if someone wants a custom frame, I hire someone else to do it. If it costs $150 to do, I may only do a small markup because I am merely the middleman. I didn't do the work. If I were to charge the customer $300 for that frame, the customer is getting a double-markup. I've seen a similar thing for mechanics. I've had my car taken for wheel work. The mechanic had someone else do the alignment. When compiling the bill, they gave me the receipt from the other mechanic and showed they did not do a markup on it.

[@C414AC]

There are always going to be people with contrarian opinions. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

[@LisaMarieYlva]

The one point I guess I could give him is that the cost of vet care can really be a barrier to adopting senior pets. But that's an issue of insurance (either that you can't insure them at all, or the premium is prohibitively high), not of the specific rates of the vet. It would be great to see a system that worked to provide better vet care financing options for former shelter pets, but that doesn't really sound like his focus here.

[@LisaMarieYlva]

Maybe just start taxing all the sales of pure bred pets from breeders and use that money ;)

[@kerrismith7391]

We need regulations on doctors going to dinner with the pharmaceutical companies. Even with insurance it is outrageously expensive to go to the ER. 1 week in the hospital for a car accident was & $145,000.00 without the major surgery. Veterinarians are expensive? Give me a friggin’ break!

[@DVMCellini]

GREAT point

[@beccamiller9929]

Dr. Cellini and Mrs. Dr. Cellini, I want to thank you for your articulation between what vet med is actually like and putting that into perspective for other people. Human medicine and vet med are complete different industries. I have been a vet assistant for 7 years. Thank you for bring some light to this topic many people are not knowledgeable of. I hate hearing from clients that say, "You are just in it for the money." For my area I come to realization that an assistant/tech salary are not livable wages anymore. I love watching your videos Doc. I can't wait for the next topic.

[@Zaiqukaj]

I wish this guy could have a more equal comparison. Like idk as a cardiologist how much is it to test concerning heart murmurs on one of his patients and how do the costs or margin of profit compare on a cat. What about an exotic like a parrot or lizard? I also wish he understood pet health insurance is a thing that exists. I personally feel like if you can get insurance for a pet before they have any health conditions it can pay for itself after a couple very bad incidents.

[@517hectorhernandez]

Where do we, as pet owners, get educated on what tests are necessary?

[@terrorismisokaysometimes]

Go to vet school.

[@terrorismisokaysometimes]

Go to vet school.

[@brissygirl4997]

Dr. Cellini, this question might be better for your wife, but do vet clinics in the U.S, do they do any basic blood work in-house? I follow several Australian vets who aren't in my state who do a lot of bloodwork in house.

[@DVMCellini]

Oh yeah every clinic does bloodwork in house

[@RainbowdashLT]

It is wild for me to even hear these prices. Like in house blood test, to see phosphorus, creatine levels, RBC, WBC counts and so on, basically a decently wide blood test for a cat with kidney disease, cost me 50 euros, I ain't got pet insurance. examinations with no treatment or extra tests go for free, they mainly charge for any test they actually do. previously for my dog, euthanasia was 20 euros. of all, the most expensive thing I had was my cats cremation coming at 140 euros

[@serenapudelski3958]

A cardiologist at his hospital is $300k!!!!!

[@rhythmandblues_alibi]

Not a cardiologist whinging about medical professionals charging too much 😅😆😆 The audacity! 😆

[@holly7869]

Creepy, definitely. Put the cat down, sir. You're scaring me

[@1898nc2]

If you feel like you are being scammed go to a different vet. As a new dog owner we’re amazed at how cheap it actually is. It is pretty comparable to our doctor’s bill before insurance. They got our German Shepard Golden mix to 15. Their care and wisdom was worth every cent.

[@jennifermoore2041]

A simple tooth extraction just cost me 2 grand. Pushing unnecessary EXPENSIVE treatments. 600 for bloodwork!!!

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

Most vets I've been to have been very willingly transparent about cost. Most human medical clinics I've gone to get pissy if you ask for an itemized bill. No shade on doctors because the system is different, but they typically don't know the price of anything if you ask, nonetheless if insurance will be covered. Most vet clinics will immediately give you quotes and by default give an itemized bill including waste disposal charges. 🤷‍♀️ Both are unaffordable but I generally feel less stress around vet care because my clinic will help me weight cost and medical benefits and willingly reffer me to a more affordable clinic if I'm struggling with the cost of their services.

[@ZaryaTheLaika]

25:36 - errr... do we need talk about US Medicare/Medicaid versus European healthcare, Dr. Physician...

[@natsukitatsumakiniji]

He loses so much credibility just by being an American doctor; he works in the system that bankrupts so many families.

[@jlahuis]

As a vet of 30 years, I can state with high degree of confidence: Human medicine is a sub-specialty of veterinary medicine!! It is MUCH harder to be a vet than, say, a cardiologist. This guy only has to deal with ONE organ in ONE species (how simple can you get?). Vets, however, deal with multiple species and cover ALL aspects of care. For example, yesterday I admitted 3 internal medicine cases, did preventative care for puppies and kittens, consulted with owners about possibly breeding their dog. Looked at a Bearded dragon with mouth rot. Treated a ball python with a tail injury. Repaired a fractured leg on a dog with a bone plate. Did farm calls for 4 horses. AND, to put the cherry on yesterday's Sundae, I had to go to the local zoo and help a reindeer calve! Oh, I almost forgot, I also had 2 cardiac cases to work up and ultrasound! Add to that, when I was deployed (I was an Army Veterinarian, you could say I am a vet-vet!), I treated most of the soldiers on the base! Now, speaking to the other vets reading this, how many times have we had an MD bring in their own dog that they "diagnosed and started treatment", to find out that they are completely off the mark? So I say, Dr. Levine, I can do your job, but you can't do mine!

[@SixOhFive]

Your absolutely delusional