For all the complaints about "evil" vets stealing your hard-earned dollars...

[pandoranoir]

Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement. The first patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week

Comments

[aleeka]

Hahaha!

Case #1 could be a human, a rich human. Someone who has the funds to pay cash for their medical care with the best doctors. Doctors who never have to answer to an insurance company as to why they've recommended a particular treatment.

[dbplatypus]

Awesome comparison. I love it.

[goth_milk]

So my question is: I have been paying $35/month for 30 pills for my dog's congestive heart failure medication. She has been on this generic medication for well over 6 months now. I can afford the ~$1 for this medication. I find out this past weekend that I can get the same 30 pills for $5/month. Do I keep paying my vet's obviously marked up prices or do I go to Costco's pharmacy and save money?

Oh, and the irony of all of this is: is that I work for a Fortune 500 big pharma company.

To add to this story: a few years ago, I was shelling out $100 for two brandname drugs (one from Pfizer and the other from Merck) for my old beagle's congestive heart failure and canine cognative dysfunction syndrome meds. I do not have any human children. If my dog was a human child, $80 of this charge would have been covered by my employer's health benefits.

[pandoranoir]

You used to work for a vet. Do you think that Costco might be able to bulk purchase the pills from the pharmaceutical corporation for a fraction of the cost that a vet might be able to purchase them for? If your vet let you, then definitely go to Costco and save the money, but realize why the vet has a higher price per pill and consider how much business Costco does versus how much business your local vet does in order to offer that profit margin.

[goth_milk]

Oh I'm pretty sure Costco wheels and deals with drug companies just like all the other pharmacies out there. I'm just wondering if my vet can actually go to some place like Costco/Sam's Club and buy his own stash of drugs for his clinic in mega bulk, and then turn around and resell those drugs in bulk to his clients. Now that I type that out, I'm going to ask the person at Costco that to see if it is legal to do such a thing. If it is legal, then I wouldn't blame my vet for doing it. I totally understand that he has to make his money to pay for his business, it's just that I'm no longer going to be one of the clients that will pay those drastically marked up prices

[pandoranoir]

Yep we match prices if people bring in printouts of costs plus shipping if applicable. However, Costco occasionally has a lower price per pill than our actual costs. I don't think vets generally have a problem with people buying lower priced meds elsewhere unless it's assholes like 1-800-PetMeds and some of the other sketchy online pharmacies. We've had issues with them providing incorrect meds and changing script authorizations in the past. That's just wrong.

Don't need to tell me.....

[slapcat]

And just wait till the dog wants a car or needs money for college. jk Some people sould not be allowed to have animals.

Re: Don't need to tell me.....

[pandoranoir]

We have a family who brings their dog into us. The dog has had two ACL repair surgerys. Thankfully, he's out of knees. They always joke that they spent the kids' college savings on the dog. "The kids may not go to college, but at least the dog can walk!" They have a great sense of humor.

[samuraisoldier]

I just found your journal randomly, and I just thought I would comment on this:

Have you ever read, "The Loved One" by Evelyn Waugh? That comparison made me think about the relative amounts of care between humans and pets.

Sorry, just a random comment : P