S1: From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
S1: This is the morning edition. I'm Samantha Cylinder Morris. It's Monday,
S1: May 19th. It's one of life's agonising scenarios. Your puppy
S1: gets hit by a car or your cat develops a tumor.
S1: Of course you want the best care. But what if
S1: you're quoted $10,000 or more? And why are prices varying
S1: so much from vet to vet? Today, senior reporter Henrietta
S1: Cook and national science reporter Liam Mannix on why veterinary
S1: bills have skyrocketed over the last few years, and the
S1: people who are now having to sell their furniture or
S1: struggle to make rent in order to care for their pets. So,
S1: Liam and Henrietta, I am so excited to have you on.
S1: You both have cats. I've got one too. And I think,
S1: you know, just as I do, that pets are the
S1: best people in the house. Now, first, Henrietta, I'm going
S1: to go to you because I think it's official. Your
S1: cat has the best name in the world. This is
S1: Margaret Scratcher. So is she called Margaret Scratcher because, like
S1: her namesake, she's a badass.
S2: She is a bit, um, and she scratches a bit
S2: and hisses and doesn't really like humans. Um, but she
S2: likes my husband. And, yeah, she's definitely the feistiest person
S2: in the house. She's quite scared of my two young kids,
S2: so it doesn't spend a lot of time in the
S2: house anymore. But she is a very important part of
S2: our family and we love her very much. Maggie or
S2: Margaret Scratcher hates the vet, and they told us that
S2: we're not to bring her back unless we, um, give
S2: her a sedative. So we we unfortunately don't go there
S2: very often.
S1: Okay, well, that brings me to my next question, which
S1: is that the two of you have just written that
S1: some people are now paying absolutely astonishing amounts of money
S1: to see the vet. So tell us, how much are
S1: we talking about here, Liam? I might go to you first.
S3: Yeah, sure. So we wanted to look at the skyrocketing
S3: costs of vets because. So we got data from Petua,
S3: which is the nation's largest pet insurer, and they think
S3: that the average cost of healthcare over a pet's lifetime
S3: is about $30,000, which is a huge amount of money.
S3: I think they were saying 1 in 10 pets, it
S3: can rise to $100,000. And the statistic that really jumped
S3: out to me was vet inflation. So this is a
S3: rise in the cost of vet services. And we're tracking
S3: that at up 34% since 2020, which is well above inflation.
S1: Okay. That is pretty shocking. Now Henrietta, I want to
S1: go to you because you both have spoken with numerous
S1: pet owners who really all have shocking stories, like forking
S1: out their entire savings to cover medical costs. So can
S1: you share some of those stories?
S2: Yeah, we spoke to a few pet owners who have
S2: had to basically dig into their savings, um, sell furniture,
S2: take out loans just in order to pay their vet bills. One.
S2: Poor man, um, he had an accident where a child
S2: fell on his puppy, and the puppy broke its leg. He, um,
S2: had no option but to seek the help of a
S2: charity that helps pet owners pay for these sorts of bills.
S2: He was initially quoted $10,000 to fix the the dog's leg. Um,
S2: and he was also quoted a smaller fee to amputate it. Um,
S2: I also spoke to another woman who has set up
S2: a crowdfunding campaign just so that she can pay her bills, um,
S2: to treat a urinary blockage in her cat. Um, this
S2: poor woman, um, is now struggling to pay the rent,
S2: and she's Choose, listing all the furniture in her house
S2: on Facebook Marketplace.
S1: And Liam, I want to go to you because these
S1: costs are rising. So tell us why? Because I mean,
S1: these these are massive figures you're talking about.
S3: As with most things, Sam, what we're seeing here is
S3: a confluence of different structural factors. So first of all,
S3: we've got the basic idea that vet care has never
S3: been better. Our animals today get better care than they
S3: have ever had. And that care has improved quite dramatically
S3: in the last 20 years. But that also costs money.
S3: You know, we've got the entry of machines and procedures
S3: that were once reserved for humans, like CT scanners, MRI scanners,
S3: even anticancer vaccines that are now moving from human medicine
S3: into animal medicine. We've also got this sense, this growing
S3: sense that animals are part of the family. People are
S3: really willing to spend a lot more money on their
S3: pet's care now. And part of that is bolstered by
S3: rising rates of pet insurance, which we know encourages consumers
S3: to spend more on their vets. But there are other
S3: things that we hear a bit less about that we
S3: found were really contributing here. First is that this is
S3: an industry that is rapidly transforming. Vets for a very
S3: long time have been underpaid relative to what other people
S3: with similar university degrees might experience. The average wage in
S3: vets is about $70,000, and that's really jumping up now
S3: because the workforce is experiencing chronic shortages and people bought
S3: a lot of pets in the pandemic. Sam. So suddenly
S3: there's a big spike in demand that's pushing up wages,
S3: and those costs are flowing through to vet owners. Then
S3: on top of that, there's growing corporatization. So a number
S3: of groups funded by venture capital have moved into the
S3: veterinary industry, started acquiring practices. And we think that that
S3: is contributing to some increases in costs. And then the
S3: last one that I really want to hit on, and
S3: this is what got Henrietta and I really interested, is
S3: we think that there may be a level of overtreatment
S3: and overdiagnosis within the industry. And that's a word that
S3: really pricks up hen in my ear, where some health
S3: and science journalists and we've done a lot of reporting
S3: on this problem in human healthcare, where there are big
S3: steps being taken to stamp it out. And it would
S3: seem that this is a problem for animals as well now.
S1: And so, Henrietta, let's go to you. Let's talk about,
S1: I guess, the new procedures, you know, the sophisticated treatments
S1: that we've now got for pets. Because I think you
S1: had it quoted in your story that, for instance, specialists
S1: are sometimes charging $1500 to $7000 to repair a ruptured ACL,
S1: but there are actually surgical options that are not nearly
S1: as expensive. Is that right?
S2: Yeah, that's right there. Seems like there's a really large
S2: discrepancy in terms of the cost of treatments between providers
S2: Often there's tests that are perhaps not necessary that are ordered.
S2: There's also increasingly sophisticated procedures that are being performed on
S2: animals chemotherapy, for instance. We also came across a case
S2: of a Great Dane that was, um, kept alive with ventilators,
S2: who had pneumonia, and that cost the pet insurer $80,000,
S2: which was their highest ever claim.
S3: Part of what drives this, Sam, is the unusual structure
S3: of the vet market. We know that consumers don't tend
S3: to price shop between different vets. It's much like with
S3: a doctor you go to the doctor, you say, I
S3: need this done and they do it for you. The
S3: same thing happens with vets. You take your sick dog
S3: to the vet. The vet says this is how much
S3: the medicine costs and you pay. So there's not a
S3: lot of price competition between different vets. And that tends
S3: to lead to a lot of price discrepancies for the
S3: same operation at different practices.
S1: We'll be right back. Okay, so, Henrietta, I want to
S1: go to you and ask you about the corporatization of
S1: the vet industry, because that, I think is also a
S1: key here. I know Liam mentioned it just before in
S1: terms of why costs have risen so much. So can
S1: you tell us about that, I guess, how much vets
S1: have become corporatized?
S2: Yeah. In Australia we have about 15 to 20% of
S2: clinics owned by these big corporate companies. There's I think,
S2: 555 vets across the country. Um, we have been told
S2: by people that that is pushing up the price of
S2: veterinary care for owners, and that is often because they
S2: have KPIs that their vets have to meet in order
S2: to bring in more money. It's not just like a
S2: vet that's owned by an individual owner who may not
S2: mind if they don't make a huge profit that year.
S2: These companies are beholden to shareholders and have to turn
S2: around big profits. That sometimes means upselling treatments and scans
S2: and things that you may not necessarily need.
S3: However, it's important to also say that Green Cross. They're
S3: one of the sort of biggest corporates in this sector
S3: have told us that there's no KPIs and that there's
S3: no commission that's linked to remuneration for their vets in
S3: terms of how many interventions they perform, and that they
S3: have full clinical autonomy to give the right care to
S3: the animal that's in front of them.
S1: And it makes me wonder, you know, is there any
S1: regulator in this industry, any oversight, because it seems to
S1: be sort of open slather in terms of, you know,
S1: what can be charged if there's such discrepancies sometimes for
S1: one procedure between one clinic and another, is there any oversight?
S2: Yeah. So each state has a veterinary board and they
S2: basically oversee, I guess, the practice of vets in that state,
S2: but they're mainly looking at, I think, sort of ethical practice. Uh,
S2: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, they basically told us
S2: that businesses are free to independently set their own prices. Um,
S2: but they also pointed out it's illegal for businesses to
S2: make false or misleading claims about prices. So I guess
S2: they're kind of your two levels of regulation here.
S1: And so I guess just to wrap up, Liam and Henrietta,
S1: is there anything, I guess, that you'd recommend for owners to,
S1: to help with this problem? I mean, obviously you've spoken
S1: about people who have drained their life savings to care
S1: for their loved pets. Is it sort of charities like
S1: the pet medical crisis that I think one of the
S1: people you spoke to went to, or is it something else?
S3: Pet insurance is obviously one potential way of defraying some
S3: of these costs. Um, I also think we need to
S3: be somewhat philosophical about these costs. What we're talking about
S3: here in many cases, is we're paying more for better
S3: quality care for our pets. And as we transform the
S3: way that we think about them, then it kind of
S3: makes a bit of sense that we would want to
S3: spend more to prolong their life. I think that the
S3: overcharging issue that we've identified is real, but I also
S3: think a lot of this is just down to people
S3: wanting to care better for their pets.
S2: I would probably recommend shopping around for prices and seeking
S2: a second opinion if you have been quoted an exorbitant
S2: price for treatment. And one of the things quite a
S2: few people raised was payment plans, and that vets should
S2: be doing more to help people who cannot necessarily afford
S2: these huge upfront costs.
S3: We're touching on an interesting ethical dilemma here, though, Sam,
S3: that a lot of pet owners and a lot of
S3: vets are really encountering before, it was reasonably common to
S3: economically euthanize an animal where you got to the point
S3: where you simply made the call. My companion animals. Life
S3: is not worth this very large treatment cost. We're now
S3: moving to the point where that is much less common,
S3: but we've almost got this reverse ethical problem coming out
S3: the other direction, where animals are being offered treatments that
S3: can extend their life but may compromise the quality of
S3: their life. Some vets have concerns about some of the
S3: heroic chemotherapies that we undertake these days because they say, well,
S3: you know how good a quality life is this dog
S3: having while it is being treated for cancer? I think
S3: that's a really interesting dilemma for people to grapple with.
S1: I think it's a really interesting dilemma, and it makes
S1: me want to ask, do you think many vets are
S1: really happy to have those difficult conversations with pet owners?
S1: Because we see that in human care, right? I know
S1: I've read features again and again where doctors who are
S1: treating human patients find it difficult to have those conversations
S1: and to sort of ask those questions. Is this something
S1: you actually want? Do you actually want this end of life.
S1: Care to prolong your life when your life might be
S1: incredibly painful? Let's just say so. I don't know if
S1: you two have spoken to vets about whether, yeah, they're
S1: forthcoming about having those kinds of conversations.
S2: Yeah, I imagine it's one of the most difficult parts
S2: of being a vet. One vet I spoke to said
S2: that about 40% of his customers cannot afford the the
S2: treatment that he recommends. He then has to discuss sort
S2: of second or third line treatment and I guess detail, um,
S2: the pitfalls of that treatment. Um, they're pretty uncomfortable conversations
S2: to have. Uh, in some cases, uh, the vet and
S2: the family might reach a decision that, um, ending the
S2: pet's life is, is the best way forward. And, um, yeah,
S2: it might also be worthwhile mentioning vets have quite high
S2: rates of, um, of sort of mental health issues. And
S2: I think a lot of that comes down to having
S2: these quite uncomfortable conversations with pet owners and wanting to
S2: do the best for these animals.
S1: Gosh, that's tragic, and I hadn't actually heard that before. Liam,
S1: is that something you've heard before? Are you surprised to
S1: hear that?
S3: I was surprised when I initially heard it, but when
S3: you speak to vets and then think about what they
S3: have to go through, you can see why it's pretty
S3: mentally challenging. These are people who typically go into this
S3: profession because they love animals, and they are, on a
S3: daily basis, being asked to euthanize an animal or not
S3: provide the best quality of care for an animal for
S3: financial reasons. You can understand why that's that's pretty traumatic
S3: and pretty heartbreaking.
S1: I have to admit, it really does put another lens on.
S1: I think, you know, the bills that people get, it
S1: really sort of does provide a much more holistic view,
S1: doesn't it, about what's going on, one that I hadn't
S1: had before. So thank you so much Liam and Henrietta,
S1: for your time.
S4: Thanks for having us.
S2: Thanks for having us, Sam.
S1: Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Josh
S1: Towers and Julia Carcasole, with technical assistance by Cormac Lally.
S1: Our executive producer is Tammy Mills. Tom McKendrick is our
S1: head of audio. To listen to our episodes as soon
S1: as they drop, follow the Morning Edition on Apple, Spotify,
S1: or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our newsrooms are powered
S1: by subscriptions, so to support independent journalism, visit The Age
S1: or smh.com.au. Subscribe and to stay up to date. Sign
S1: up to our Morningedition newsletter to receive a summary of
S1: the day's most important news in your inbox every morning.
S1: Links are in the show. Notes. I'm Samantha Selinger. Morris.
S1: Thanks for listening.