Here's a graph (click on it to make it bigger and much easier to read!) comparing the annual inflation rate for veterinary services versus the US city average since 2001. As you can see, veterinary services have been increasing at around 6% annually, which is 3-4% higher than the average city inflation. That means the cost of treating your pet takes a bigger chunk out of your pay check every year.
What is the cause of this extra inflation?
- Veterinary medical technology:
30 years ago, veterinarians needed little more than a stethoscope and an Army surplus field X-ray machine to start a practice. Now they set up their clinics with expensive diagnostic equipment such as blood-analysis machines and ultrasound scanners. Setting up even a small practice costs upwards of $500,000. These extra costs are passed on to pet caregivers. - Veterinary drugs:
Veterinary drugs can treat an increasing variety of illnesses and while they can do more, the new drugs are often more costly. Sales of companion animal drugs increased from $2.03 billion in 2002 to $2.49 billion in 2003 according to The Animal Health Institute, which a leap of nearly 23% in one year! This is very similar to what we see in human drug costs.
What this data doesn't show is the increase in the number of high-end vet bills so I'll see what we can dig up on that. As pet lovers, while we might be able to absorb the increase cost of regular vet visits, we are getting faced more and more with the large bills, which makes us as pet owners face the emotional life-or-money decision more frequently. This is where pet insurance can help avoid that awful situation.
