In our previous article, we talked about the high price of vet bills and what to try if you’re currently struggling with a high vet bill. We recently spoke with Suzanne Cannon, one of the founders of Vet Billing, about a potential solution that may make high vet bills easier.
In my personal case, I have chihuahuas that need regular dentals to stay healthy. With their sky-high prices, I am forever saving how much it was last year, only to find out it is $400 more this year. When you times that by 3 dogs, that’s a lot of money to have to come up with.
Vet Billing allows regular customers to pay in installments. That means if I want to get my dog a dental, I can keep paying them a set amount a month until it’s due. You can either prepay, like I would probably do for my dogs, or pay after the service is rendered, such as for emergency care.
How it Benefits Clients
On the client side of things, the benefits are obvious. If you have a sudden emergency vet bill that costs $5,000, you may not have that sitting around in your emergency savings account. Even if you have that much money, it might not be readily available, such as in the form of stocks or bonds.
For those who are not financially well off, getting Care Credit in time to save a dying pet, or getting a grant may not be fast enough. Even insurance often requires the vet bill to be paid in full, with reimbursement later.
Any way you look at it, this is a terrible situation. No one wants to euthanize their beloved pet because they can’t afford to save them.
Vet Billing can step in for these situations, by giving veterinarians the flexibility to offer payment plans to their clients. When veterinary care is financially accessible, it makes it easier for clients to make a decision based on outcome, not on finances.
How it Benefits Veterinarians
Veterinarians did not get into the profession of helping animals so they could rake in lots of cash. If this was their main goal, trust me, virtually any job with the same education requirements would pay more. They do this for the love of animals.
Making animal medical care their job however, comes with a price tag. Even were a veterinarian to decide to do some of their work for charity, the price of the medication is still costing them. Renting the building, the lights, the electricity, the equipment used, do not cost any less because the veterinarian took their own fee out of it.
Many clients lash out at veterinarians in the heat of a very emotional moment, wondering why they have the ability to treat their animal and don’t.
It may well be because just like the client can’t afford the treatment, the veterinarian can’t afford the overhead to treat the animal either. Everyone is stuck.
Vetbilling offers veterinarians the flexibility to handle these situations. By putting potential payment plans (with a 90% repayment record) in their hands, it gives veterinarians the ability to say, “Yes,” to those who can’t pay right away.
How to Find a Vetbilling Partner
Right now, the biggest flaw of Vetbilling is that it is not available in more clinics. You can find the closest one to you by searching for the closest one here. Don’t see your clinic? Be sure to ask your vet to consider becoming a partner clinic.
We found 4 within a 50 mile radius, but it’s sadly still a drive for us. We’ll be requesting our local veterinarians become partner clinics, and suggest you do to.
Words form Suzanne Cannon
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I hadn’t heard of vetbilling. I’m glad they are offering such a great service. I just checked my area. My vet isn’t on the list. There is one about 20 miles away. This could benefit a lot of folks in this economy. I wish my vet was on the list. Hopefully, more vets and vet clinics will be added as time goes by. I’m sharing this with all my dog parents so they can take advantage of this service. Thanks, Andrea, for bringing vetbilling to the forefront.
I think people just haven’t heard of it. I’d absolutely love if it were as common as Care Credit. There’s only 3 in my whole state right now, sure hoping my own vet will adopt it!
What a great option! The ability to afford Vet care is becoming such a huge issue for people these days, it’s causing a lot of pet parents to surrender their pets simply because they can’t afford the Vet bills. You’re right, it is a tough situation for both the pet parent and the Vet. Veterinarians deserve to be paid for their time, resources, and expertise just as any other doctor or professional. I’m glad this option exists, it sounds like a really good option.
What a great option for those awful high bills, I am blessed to have insurance for Nili so have no worries phew but for those that do not it can be so expensive so your post I hope will help others
This is an amazing option and would help so many people! I’ve never heard of it but will def spread the word!!
What a terrific, informative, and helpful post! Vetbilling is a great option, and I love that you included the search for clinics who provide this option to patients! (I even just did a quick search for my area and am happily surprised by the number who do vetbilling.) I also agree that vets (especially my FiveSibes vets) truly were in the field for the love of animals, and they offered me a multi-dog discount, which was 10%, but oh-so-helpful!! I love the idea of vetbilling and see how helpful that can be for folks so they do not hesitate to get their beloved pets in when needed, especially in these trying times. I’m sharing this with my readers. I know they will find this very helpful!