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They're currently buying up veterinary practices in the UK and turning them into cash cows. This has the effect that pet insurance has gone through the roof, a
by rwmj 3y ago
They're currently buying up veterinary practices in the UK and turning them into cash cows. This has the effect that pet insurance has gone through the roof, and general vet bills are much higher than they used to be. Pets suffer too if owners can't afford to treat them any longer. (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/12/uk-vet-pricing-competition-and-markets-authority-cma https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/12/uk-vet-pric...)
- throwway120385 3y agoOptum is doing the same thing here in the US PNW for actual doctors' offices. My SO had a mysterious charge suddenly appear in her account that nobody would explain and then she got fired as a patient and sent to collections by them a few years ago. Now that they're buying all of the clinics she essentially can't get in to any providers because of it.
- prepend 3y agoDentists too.
- mindracer 3y agoA few years ago my cat needed his teeth cleaned my local vet charged me £125. The same vet, now owned by CVS, is now going to charge £250
- NegativeK 3y ago$250 for a cleaning in the US is still a loss leader. The actual cost to the clinic of a dental cleaning is ridiculous for how often it needs to be done.
- madaxe_again 3y agoThat was €10 here in Portugal.
- sib 3y agoHow long does the process take? What is the overhead (space / equipment / other costs)? And therefore, how much is the provider earning per hour?
- madaxe_again 3y agoAbout 20 minutes, some disposable gloves, a disposable toothbrush head impregnated with toothpaste. So about €25 an hour. Commercial rents for small spaces are dirt cheap here - probably about €600/mo. That’s probably the driving factor in the U.K. - commercial property is eyewateringly expensive.
- DiggyJohnson 3y agoWhat about labor costs? I'm not GP but I appreciate this sort of breakdown. I wouldn't have considered that commercial RE for small business is much cheaper in Portugal than GB.
- NegativeK 3y agoRespectfully, that's brushing the teeth, which is a subset of dental cleaning. Dental cleaning requires dental tools and anesthesia.
- floren 3y agoHere in the Bay Area I've been quoted $800 to clean a dog's teeth.
- kstrauser 3y agoLucky! Our ancient Maltese has a heart murmur and was referred to, I kid you not, a canine cardiologist. The estimate started at $10K and went up from there. The affected teeth got loose. We pulled them. The dog is happy and healthy. I would have liked for a professional to have done that for us in a more controlled and methodical manner, but there's no way I could justify spending at least ten thousand freaking dollars on a 13 year old dog who was at significant risk of dying on the table.
- sokoloff 3y agoThat sounds like a "we're not in the teeth cleaning business; go away!" price. I love my dog and spend pretty freely on him, but no way is he getting an $800 teeth cleaning. At that point, you might as well locate your practice on the airport and cater only to people who fly their dog in on a private jet.
- JackFr 3y agoPlease. Those folks have a canine dental hygienist on staff. They don't go to walk in clinics.
- TheMagicHorsey 3y agoIf the PE firm is charging more than a vet operating alone would, then why wouldn't a vet operating alone just undercut the PE firm's veterinary practice? There must be some barrier to entry in the market that prevents that, and that's what I would target. Because the PE firm isn't the root cause. After all, if you can't just enter a market and charge whatever you want as a standalone vet, what makes a PE firm different?
- jethro_tell 3y agoPart of what's happening here is a combo of making a small business being expensive and a good chunk of the population living hand to mouth. The people with the cash to start the business and get the space and equipment just sold to PE and you have people that were employees and a much smaller number of these people are going to be able to just quit and fire up a business.
- bsder 3y ago> If the PE firm is charging more than a vet operating alone would, then why wouldn't a vet operating alone just undercut the PE firm's veterinary practice? Finance. Throwing in with the PE firm means you don't have to negotiate real estate leases, don't have to think about POS systems, and don't have to worry about collections. So, the vet probably gets paid the same and spends a lot more time on being a vet. On the other hand, the consumers spend a LOT more once the PE firm has a monopoly position and switches to gouging them.
- toast0 3y ago> There must be some barrier to entry in the market that prevents that, and that's what I would target. Training to be a vet is a long process. The patients are nice (mostly), but don't communicate well, and some of the customers are terrible. In my area, there's a shortage of small animal vets because they can make a lot more money in the big city. There's an even worse shortage of large animal vets because the job is worse, and they can make a lot more money working with small animals in the big city. Our large animal vet won't do callouts for emergency/urgent services anymore unless you're on contract for annual checkups; routine visits are good for vet morale and help the budget.
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- zikduruqe 3y agoM&M Mars here in the US has been buying up the independent veterinary practices and turning them into corporate run businesses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Inc.#Mars_Petcare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Inc.#Mars_Petcare
- whartung 3y agoOut here, they’re all being bought up by VCA. My vet is absolutely considering selling his practice. We (selfishly, not seriously) suggested selling his practice and then opening a new one closer to where we live. (We moved out of the area several years ago, but continue to drag the cats in to see him.) We said it in gest but he said he was already giving it serious consideration. When he bought his practice from the previous vet, the original owner did exactly that —- opening a new practice elsewhere.
- whycome 3y agoThis sounds like something out of Idiocracy
- lupusreal 3y agoIt's a highly prophetic movie. (And my thinking so is probably another example of it!)
- stalfosknight 3y agoEvery day it feels like we are getting closer and closer to making Idiocracy a reality.
- owlninja 3y agoI just saw a blurb about something similar in the US! Mars (the candy company) is 'the largest owner of stand-alone veterinary clinics in the United States.' Also: 'JAB Holding Company, the owner of National Veterinary Associates’ 1,000-plus hospitals (not to mention Panera and Espresso House), also holds multiple pet-insurance lines in its portfolio.' https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/vet-private-equity-industry/678180/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/vet-privat...