Loving Their Pets to Debt

Uh oh. Clementine, stop. Oh my gosh. Sorry. She has thoughts. From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina. Tavarisi and this is the Daily. Over the past decade, the cost of. veterinary care in the US has. skyrocketed as health care for pets has. come to look more like healthcare for.

people. Today, my colleague Katie Thomas on how. vet care became a multi-billion dollar. industry and the fraught, emotional, and. financial landscape it has created for. pet owners. [Music]. It's Friday, July 12th.

[Music]. [Music]. Katie, welcome to our Friday episode. Yeah, I'm excited. So Katie, you. recently wrote about something that I, as a pet owner, and a lot of people on. this team also pet owners can relate to, and that is that the cost of veterinary. care has skyrocketed.

Tell me how you came to this story. Yeah, so a couple of years ago, my. family and I, we got a new dog. We got a. puppy and his name was Rosco. And he did. great. You know, the first year he was a. very healthy little dog. And then when. he was about a year and a half old, he. got very sick and we learned that he had. been born with a very serious liver. defect. And our vet referred us to a. bigger animal hospital. And that's kind.

of when I entered this world. That's. like a new level of veterinary care that. I hadn't realized existed. So as I was. navigating this, I was wearing two hats. you know, one was just as a pet owner. and trying to figure out the right. treatment for my dog. And then the other. hat I was wearing is as the healthcare. reporter, which is my full-time job. So, I kept on noticing a lot of aspects of. the veterinary world that to me were. starting to feel very, very similar to.

the human healthcare world that I cover. And as I started looking into this, I. started learning just how much money. there is now in the veterinary industry. and also how expensive this care has. become over the last couple of decades. I learned that very quickly these bills. can start adding up to 5, 10, even. $15,000. And how much have prices actually.

increased? I mean, it seems to me like a. huge amount, but what are the numbers. there? So, as we know, prices for all kinds of. things are going up because we've seen. inflation over the last couple of years, but vet care prices have risen much. faster than the overall rate of. inflation. My colleagues and I actually. ran the numbers and in the last decade, the price of services has risen about. 30%. And in that same period, veterinary. care has gone up by more than 60%. Why is that, Katie? I mean, that's the.

question here, right? What's going on? So, when I started reporting this out, I. found that there were a number of. factors that were contributing and. they're all intertwined. One is just. that the culture of owning a pet has. changed. More and more people are owning. pets and you know, there's different. surveys, but anywhere between like 60 to. 70% of American households have a pet. And as those of us who do have pets. know, we kind of see them more and more. as members of the family, you know? I.

mean, one example is like dogs used to. live outside, right? Or sleep in a. garage or something. And now there's. this one survey that I found that almost. half of Americans sleep with their pet. I would never do that, Katie. No, none of us would. And we just need to walk into any pet. store to see, you know, how much money. people are spending on pets for cute. outfits, birthday cookies. When you go. away, you don't just leave them in a.

kennel, but they're now dog hotels. You. know, there's this fancy one near me. where like they have a view of the. Chicago River. You know, you could go. for a river view. Okay. I would never leave my dog in a. dog hotel, though. I did just send her. to a boarding place where she got a. bunch of training when I was on. vacation. So, I am feeling a little. sheepish here, but it has gone crazy. I. mean, we were talking to the team. earlier and I was saying I was. overhearing someone on the street just. walking talking to their friend having a. conversation about dropping her off at.

daycare and I couldn't tell whether she. was talking about a dog or a child. Right. Exactly. Okay. So, we are all pet owners now or. at least a majority of us are. So that. bigger demand for services presumably. causes prices to rise. Is that what's. going on here? Yeah, that's a part of it. But the big. driver is also that there's just been. these remarkable advances in medicine. for animals. And it's kind of like what. I saw with my own puppy. Historically,

vets would help with really kind of. basic things like a cut on a paw or. deworming or spaying and neutering. But. for anything life-threatening like. cancer or something like that, really. the only option that they had available. to them was to put the animals to sleep. and to give them a humane death. But. over the last decade, there's just been. huge leaps in what we can do for our. pets. There's been big steps in cancer. care, very intricate and involved.

surgery, dermatology. There's been some. really big new drugs for dogs in. particular to help with skin allergies. You know, there's physical therapy. There's just so many options now. available to pet owners to help their. animals live longer and better lives. Like for example, I spoke to this one. vet who she's been working since the. 1990s and she told me this story about. how her father was a human doctor. And.

back then what she would do is she had a. lot of dachshunds and dachshunds often. have bad backs and she would sneak them. into the human hospital after hours and. into the MRI machine so she could check. them out. And today she has an MRI. machine and you know many animal. hospitals have MRI machines for animals. So that's a really a measure of how. things have changed even since the. 1990s. Yeah. And it's pretty amazing and great. that we have these options available for.

our pets. But it also costs a lot of. money to do all of this new stuff, which. brings me to another big change that I. found in my reporting, which is this has. become very appealing to big businesses. because just remember historically. veterinary offices were small businesses. and they were staffed by animal lovers, not business people. And that has made. it an enticing target for investors. because they see an opportunity there.

Okay. So big business spots an. opportunity here. So what happens? So basically big companies and private. equity firms start buying up small. chains and individual clinics. They. pretty much go on an acquisition spree. One big example is the conglomerate. Mars, which is probably best known for. selling candy and also pet food. Little known fact, Mars is also a big. dog food manufacturer, not just a candy. bar maker. Yes, it makes a lot of different dog.

foods and it's been in the pet world for. a long time. But over the last several. years, they've also bought up the big. veterinary chain VCA. They also own. Banfield which is in a lot of the. PetSmarts which is a big pet store. chain. They also own a specialty. hospital chain called Blue Pearl. And. then in addition to that a lot of. private equitybacked firms have been. buying small individual practices. That.

trend really peaked in 2021 for example. And so the situation that we have today. is that a quarter of all primary care. vet clinics are now owned by. corporations and threearters of. specialty hospitals are owned by. companies. And Katie, how does this. consolidation, you know, in some cases. 3/4 of all clinics owned by big. companies? How does that affect these. high prices we've been talking about? Well, I spoke to a number of vets who. have worked in these corporateowned.

clinics and what they told me is that. they are under increasing pressure to do. things that basically drive up the cost. of care for pet owners. Some examples. that they gave me is they felt. increasingly stressed and pressured to. see more animals per day. Others told. me, you know, to a certain extent, veterinarians have always had some of. their pay tied to how much revenue they. bring into the practice. But at these. corporateowned clinics, the pressure is.

even greater. They were being asked to. order more tests or one veterinarian. that I spoke to said, you know, that she. was told she needs to get her cost per. client higher or someone else said that. someone needed training on getting a pet. owner to Yes. You know, these are high. pressure sales tactics that, you know, you really don't expect to see in a vet. office. And some of these vets that I. spoke to said that they felt pretty. uncomfortable with that as well. So now there's this doubt, right? It's.

like, am is my vet recommending this. thing because my dog should have this. thing or is my vet recommending this. thing because he needs to make a. different bottom line than he used to, right? And you know, when I spoke to. vets, they were very clear that they. only provide the care that they think is. best for that particular animal. But. there's no denying that these incentives. and pressures are there. And they say. that there's a lot of factors that pet. owners don't always appreciate. One of. them is they are very forward, public.

facing, kind of almost like a retail. store. They get Google reviews, Yelp. reviews, and so they're very worried. about not providing the top level care. and perhaps getting inviscerated in. reviews. And so sometimes that can put. pressure on them to make sure that. they've done absolutely everything they. can for an animal. The last thing is. that a lot of veterinarians do still own. their own clinics. and they told me that. they're facing all of the same rising.

costs and pressures that any other small. business owner is facing. And that. includes paying a living wage for. workers and a pretty tight labor market, the rising cost of prescription drugs. and lab tests and other equipment. And. they say that a lot of times pet owners. just see the high price tag and they. blame the person in front of them, which. is the veterinarian. Okay. So, the rise. of this corporate consolidation we've. been seeing has meant perhaps higher.

prices and has put more pressure on. vets. But are there any upsides in it. for us for consumers? I mean, just one. example from my old neighborhood in. Washington DC. There was a new chain. that moved in that was 24 hours and that. was a great option for my very. accidentprone dog. She suddenly had a. couple of different options of places. that we could go in the middle of the. night if something happened. For sure. I mean, anytime there's more. money available, you can invest in.

better services, nicer offices, nicer. waiting rooms. There's more money for. better equipment and investing in some. of these specialty services that we've. been talking about. So there are. definitely benefits to this, but as I found in my reporting, even as. vet care has really caught up in a lot. of ways to human healthcare, there's a. lot of important ways that they're. different.

And that can present some really. difficult choices and some prickly moral. choices for pet owners. We'll be right back. [Music]. So Katie, let's dig into the ways that. pet care is actually different from. human care. You know, setting aside the. fact that pets are not people. So talk.

to me about what these main differences. are. The biggest difference is how the. pet care gets paid for. I'm not sure. anyone in the US would say that health. care is particularly affordable, but the. fact of the matter is that most people. do have health insurance that covers the. bulk of their medical costs. And if you. are in an emergency situation, hospitals. are legally obligated to give you. life-saving care and then sort out the. bills later. But that's just not how.

things work in the vet world. veterinarians don't have the same. obligation to treat and so it's almost. entirely on the pet owner to pay the. full amount of the bill basically. upfront and at the time of service out. of pocket. So that is a big difference but isn't. there pet insurance as well? There is. pet insurance, but a very small minority. of pet owners actually have pet. insurance, just about 4% and it's very.

different from the health insurance that. most of us are familiar with. You know, some examples are that with very few. exceptions, you still have to front the. money for the bill and then you would. submit that claim to your pet insurance, which will then decide whether you know. that's a legitimate claim and then they. will reimburse you. Generally, plans. don't cover pre-existing conditions. They charge more for pets that are.

older. It's kind of like the. pre-Obamacare version of human health. care. Many things that are now not. allowed in the human health care world. are still very much a feature of how pet. insurance works. And even if you have. pet insurance, that doesn't always mean. that you can keep it. To take one. example, Nationwide, which is one of the. biggest providers of pet insurance in. this country, recently said that the. cost of pet care is getting so expensive. that it had to discontinue the plans of.

a 100,000 pet owners. And so that left a. lot of these pet owners basically back. where they had started with having to. cover the cost of the care themselves. And that's of course presuming they can. pay, right? I mean, I'm sure for a lot. of people their devotion to their animal. notwithstanding, it's just not possible. to drop a few thousand on these amazing. life-saving treatments. So, are those. people who can't afford that just having. to put their pets down? What are those. people doing? And this is where this.

just gets extremely thorny and. difficult. I think there's a number of. different answers. Yes, I think some. people do have to put their animals to. sleep or choose less expensive options. But when I talked to pet owners about. this, many of them went to pretty. extreme lengths in order to cover this. care and to find a way to pay for it. You know, I spoke to people who dipped. into their retirement funds. I spoke to. somebody who donated blood plasma, someone else who took on a second job in.

order to pay for this. And many people. also charge it on a regular credit card. like a Visa and then pay it off. But. another option that a lot of pet owners. end up going for is something called a. medical credit card. And what exactly is. that? It's a specialty credit card that's. offered at a lot of these veterinary. clinics. It's right there on the counter. often. And the way that these cards. generally work is that there's an. introductory period, say 6 months. And.

if you pay that off within that period, you don't have to pay any interest at. all. But if you don't pay it off and you. still have some debt at the end of that, the interest rate can be pretty serious. Like how much? Well, I spoke to this one pet owner. Her. name's Heather Massie and she shared her. bills with me and she's paying 30%. Wow. So that's high. Yes, it is high. But you. can also see why it's tempting. You're.

really struggling to figure out how you. can pay off this pretty significant bill. and then you know this is an available. option to you. And you know many people. think that hey I could think I can do. that. I could pay off that during you. know that 6 months or something like. that. But Heather's is not alone. I. spoke to the company that she got her. card through, Care Credit, and they told. me that 80% of people who take out the. card pay it off in time. But put another. way, that means one in five people who.

take it out don't pay it off within the. introductory period. So a lot of people going into debt for. their pets. Yes. And can I just pause for a moment. on that, Katie? I mean, these are dogs. and cats, right? These are not our. children. And yet, we're going into debt. like this trying to prolong their pretty. short lives. Like, you know, it does. seem kind of nuts in a way, but at the.

same time, you know, I'm imagining. myself in that vet office staring at the. bill and staring at a very sick. Clementine. And I think I would have a. really hard time not doing that myself, not taking on that debt. I can easily. imagine myself doing it. It's hard. Yeah, it's really hard. And I think. we're we're in a whole new world right. now. You know, the vets that I spoke to. used to say that really the only option. for a very sick animal was euthanasia.

And now they're going into these exam. rooms and offering pet owners so many. other options to prolong the life of. their dogs and cats. But you know, regardless of what options these pet. owners choose, what's happening is that they're the. ones who end up in the driver's seat. the decision ultimately sits with them. and they're now faced with this whole. new set of ethical questions and big.

financial responsibilities. that they really never had before, right? Like when there's always another. treatment to try and there's a credit. card to put it on, you know, it feels to. the pet owner like it's their choice. about whether their pet lives or dies, right? And the question comes up, just. because you can, does that mean you. should? And is that always in the best. interest of the pet? It's actually the question that I.

wrestled with with my own puppy. He got very sick. It turned out he had a. very serious health problem. And so in. our case, we learned that there was a. surgery that could fix it. pretty. expensive surgery, but we decided to go. for it because he was young and had. potentially a long dog's life ahead of. him. Unfortunately, he experienced. complications from the surgery and he.

didn't actually make it. Oh, but you know, I don't regret having done. it and he got really great care. My experience just really echoed what I. heard from so many pet owners and. veterinarians that there's really no. easy answers to these very new questions. that we're all facing. You kind of have.

to sort out the risks and rewards of pet. ownership. And in my case, I. decided. it was worth it to me. And I recently got a new dog. So, you. know, here we go again. Katie, thank you. Thanks for having me.

We'll be right back. [Music]. Here's what else you should know. Today, on Thursday night, amid growing doubts. about his age and mental fitness, President Biden wrapped up a summit of. NATO leaders in Washington. And now I.

want to hand it over to the president of. Ukraine who has as much courage as he. has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. By mistakenly introducing the president. of Ukraine as the president of Russia. President Putin. He's going to be. President Putin. President Zalinski. Later. With that, I'll take your questions. I've been given a list of people to call. on here. Biden held a news conference.

that was widely seen as a crucial test. of his stamina and coherence. In his. first answer, he once again stumbled. when referring to his own vice. president. Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice. President Trump to be vice president, but I think she was not qualified to be. president. So, let's start there. But. over the next hour, Biden spoke with. fluency and command about the war in. Gaza, America's policy toward China, and. his relationship with Russian President.

Vladimir Putin. And when pressed on his. age and ability to serve a second term, Biden said he had no reservations. And. every single day, I'm surrounded by good. docs. If they think there's a problem, I. promise you, or even if they don't think. it's a problem, they think I should have. a neurological exam again, I'll do it. No one suggested that to me now. Still, when the news conference was over, three. more House Democrats called on Biden to.

step aside as nominee. As of Thursday. night, 18 congressional Democrats have. asked Biden to end his campaign. [Music]. A quick reminder to catch a new episode. of The Interview right here tomorrow. This week, Lulu Garcia Navaro talks with. Robert Putnham, the author of Bowling. Alone. For decades, he's been warning.

about the decline of American community. and what that means for our democracy. We're not going to fix all these. problems in America. polarization, inequality, social isolation until we. start feeling we have an obligation to. care for other people. And that's not. easy. Today's episode was produced by. OliviaNat, Claire Tennis, Sketter, and. Ricky Netski. It was edited by Lexi Diao.

and Devon Taylor with research help from. Susan Lee. contains original music by. Dan Powell and Rowan Nemisto and was. engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme. music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Lansk. of Wonderly. Special thanks to Zuzu, Piper, Tiger, Chi-Chi, Zadeie, Toby, Gerald, Cosmo, and Clementine. That's it for the Daily. I'm Serena.

Taverni. See you on Monday.