High fees are your problem but not your fault

For the first time in 10 years, pet owners chose “reasonably priced services” as the most important factor in choosing their veterinarian. Bombarded with historically high food costs, soaring gas prices, and unaffordable mortgage payments around the corner, pet owners have every reason to be concerned about veterinary fees. The source of the problem is not veterinarians charging higher fees — the problem is consumers have less money. Period.

Historically, pet owners responding to the Ontario Survey of Pet Owners would rank emotional factors higher than financial ones when selecting their veterinarian. Having a veterinarian that was “interested in their pets well being” was always the first consideration when choosing a veterinarian, “excellent medical knowledge,” and “explaining things thoroughly” were also ranked highly. “Services reasonably priced” was ranked low on the list until the financial crisis in 2010, (Figure 1). During the financial crisis, reasonably priced services took the top spot. Keep in mind — it was a crisis. Since 2015, price as a consideration for selecting a veterinarian has been in distant second place and dropping. For 2024, reasonably priced services is the most important factor in choosing a veterinarian. What happened?

FIGURE 1.

Most important factors in choosing a veterinarian.

When things opened up after COVID-19, consumer spending took off. Increased spending, alongside supply chain shortages, led to increasing price inflation. When it first appeared in 2022, the Bank of Canada and federal government assured consumers that inflation was temporary, transitory, and nothing was done to control it (1). Like a recalcitrant child left unattended, bad things started to happen. Overall inflation, which had been running near zero for a decade, shot up to 7% in 2022, gas went up 28% and grocery bills (food) went up 9% (2). According to the 2022 CVMA Economic Report, during this period, veterinary fees only went up 2–5%, less than national inflation.

As inflation soared to record levels, wages fell behind. The average wages in Canada went up 4% in 2022 — 3% less than inflation (3). With 7% inflation and 4% wage increase, the average Canadian consumer was worse off because they had 3% less to spend. At first, no one complained about the discrepancy because most consumers were able to build up a war chest of savings during COVID-19 — a byproduct of staying home for 2 years and not spending money.

By the middle of 2023 consumers started running out of money. Their COVID-19 savings were spent, inflation was still up 4%, food prices were up another 7%, and although gas prices were down for the year, they were still quite high. On top of it all, the interest rates that went up to control inflation caused mortgage rates to soar to unaffordable levels (4). The same pet owner who happily paid their veterinary bill in 2022 was now struggling.

Inside veterinary hospitals, veterinarians were battling their own wage inflation that was running 2 times the provincial average (5). To keep up, veterinary fees went up 8% in 2023, marking a 10% increase over 2 years. This is when people started to notice. The media blamed the higher cost of veterinary care on “Big Pharma” and “Big Vet” when the real culprit was “Big Inflation.”

In the last 2 years, overall inflation went up 11%, but the items people notice like groceries and gas were up 16 and 20% respectively. The cost of veterinary medicine went only up 10% but after a pet owner gets gas and buys groceries, they don’t have anything left to pay the veterinarian (Table 1).

TABLE 1.

National inflation rates for wages, goods, and services.

	2022	2023	Combined
Wages	4%	5%	9%
All goods and services	7%	4%	11%
Gasoline	28%	−8%	20%
Food	9%	7%	16%
Shelter	7%	6%	13%
Health and personal care	4%	6%	10%
Veterinary Medicine *	2%	8%	10%
Alcohol, tobacco products, and cannabis	4%	5%	9%
Recreation, education, and reading	5%	2%	7%
Household operations, furnishings, and equipment	5%	1%	6%
Clothing and footwear	1%	1%	2%

^*CVMA weighted average sample of veterinary fees.

Veterinarians can’t do anything to control inflation, but they can help by making veterinary care more affordable to consumers through programs like pet insurance, discounted pet food delivery, and monthly payments on wellness plans.

Pet insurance takes the sting out of expensive, unexpected illness, and accidents. During COVID-19, pet insurance took off. In the 2024 Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) Survey of Pet Owners, 8% of respondents indicated they had insurance for their pet. Ten years ago, the percentage of pet owners with insurance was roughly 1.5%.

When pet owners were asked about the cost of different aspects of veterinary medicine, more than half (52%) said pet food was “too expensive.” By comparison, only a third considered veterinary services to be “too expensive.” Veterinarians offering discounted pet food delivery and passing on manufacturers coupons for automatic reorder can help price sensitive pet owners pay for their pet food.

One of the most effective ways to help consumers manage their veterinary bills during difficult financial times is to offer wellness plans and allow pet owners to pay their veterinary bills monthly. Faced with relatively lower wages and higher priced food and gas, paying one twelfth of the veterinary bill will make a difference. After getting gas and groceries, many consumers simply don’t have $600 to pay the veterinarian but they do have $50 for the first month and will gratefully make their payments for the next 11 months.

So next time someone complains about your fees, keep in mind that their concern is real but its not your fault.

Funding Statement

This article is provided as part of the CVMA Business Management Program, which is co-sponsored by NVA Canada, Petsecure Pet Health Insurance, Merck Animal Health, and Scotiabank.