Vet bills question

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Shilasdair

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Hi all
I have a question regarding veterinary treatment and bills.
My horse is not insured (too old) and is currently in the vet clinic for treatment rather unexpectedly at the moment.
I have asked for an indication of the cost of the bill to date, and some idea of ongoing costs of any treatment they are thinking of - but the vets are a little dismissive - and haven't met my request.
They are continuing to treat the horse, and while I want them to do what's best for her, I also do not have money without limits (and when they do bill me they want paid in 2 weeks so for practical reasons an estimate would be helfpul).
What do your vets do?
What would you do in my situation?
S :D
 
Always got an indication and estimate-don't see why they won't provide you with one. Ring up tomorrow and ask for an up to date reading on the bill and estimate for the next week of treatment.
 
My horses aren't insured and my vets have always being very good at discussing costs with me when they discuss treatment options.

You are entitled to know the cost of any treatment before you consent to it, as well as the likelihood of success, if there are any alternatives and what would happen if you did nothing - it is called informed consent.
 
Hmmm
They are very good vets, and I am not querying the treatment - but they are telling me AFTER they have done things, not before.
I would probably say yes, but it would be nice to have the choice...
S :D
 
My vets will always give me an approximate cost and if it came to it I would expect I could say £xyz is the absolute maximum I can pay, will it be more than that.
Could you try being the very worried/upset owner and tell them you don't think you can afford what they are doing and intimating that you think the treatment will cost a fortune because they are hiding the cost from you?
 
They should really keep you updated on treatment and costs. To give an extreme example you could refuse to pay for a certain treatment because they had not got your consent to carry out said treatment. Not that I am suggesting for one minute you should do this, but it is your horse and you are entitled to know beforehand exactly what they are intending to do.

Hope all goes well for your horse.
 
My vets are very good at keeping me updated with the bills, I just ask and they will give me it, normally they email the breakdown to me.

For routine stuff they give you a month to pay, insurance claims the excess a month I think, and for big treatment when not insured I think it's 6months but they are open to this depending who you are.

They do have a policy in place though that when you first become a client of there's you need to pay before the vet gets to the yard on the day. ESP for things like vac's, vettings etc. They don't ask this if it's an emergency though.
You have to pay like this 5 times before they give you a account. I can see why though.
 
Yes, get some indication of what it has all cost so far, and what are any more possible treatments likely to come to.

After all, if you can't pay the bill at the end, they're the ultimate losers. Your horse has had the treatment, and they'd have to take you through the Small Claims in the County Court process. Tedious for them. Just be firm, and I'm sure they'll be up front and reasonable with you. And you say you are very pleased with them on the veterinary side.
 
Shilasdair said:
So what do you all recommend?
That I ask for an itemised bill to date, and an estimate for future work?
S :D
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Yes - your Vets should be able to print out an itemised statement of account, just like a Bank statement. No reason why they cant give you an estimate for future work atall. Ring them or better still call in. They should be able to print off your transactions in 5 mins, - we do!
 
Put it in writing that you want to be kept up to date on treatment costs - What is the balance today, what they estimate current treatment will cost including any fees for hospitalisation, and say that you want to review the cost of any change in treatment before the treatment commences. Tell them that the horse is not insured and you want to make sure you have sufficient funds available to pay the bill when it arrives so it is important that they keep you updated. Explain this to the Vet treating your horse as well. They will want to do the best for your horse but they will appreciate that you are being responsible and trying to make sure you don't run up a bill that you can't pay and i am certain that they will be happy to keep you informed.
 
After doing work experience at the equine hospital that i use, i came to realise that they are meticulous about recording EVERYTHING they use on your horse. This includes dressings, bandages, gloves, needles all to be added up and stamped onto the bill. So depending on what treatment your having remember it will literally be a ball park estimate and that doesn't include the generous amount of VAT they add onto it all:mad:

Luckily my vet is pretty understanding when it comes to the fact that my 2 are not insured and I have limits on the treatment I can provide. Any treatment I get offered, they ring the office and get the price list so i know what to expect! He was out the other day to my cob who has suspected arthritis and x rays just to confirm this or steroid injections are just not in my range of affordability. My vet has agreed to work on everything as much as he can as cheaply as he can. I rang him on emergency the other night as my pony was foot sore and he agreed that rather than get charged for a call out, he talked me through everything that my pony was to get, what food, amount of food, amount of medication etc etc and a lengthy discussion of what had brought it on. If you clearly state the position your'e in, they should be more than willing to help you. Your not the only horse owner who decides not to insure!
 
Sophstar-your poor vet, he essentially gave you that length of his time for no financial reward. You wouldnt expect it of any other profession! Hope he's getting a big christmas bottle of whiskey..
 
Sophstar said:
After doing work experience at the equine hospital that i use, i came to realise that they are meticulous about recording EVERYTHING they use on your horse. This includes dressings, bandages, gloves, needles all to be added up and stamped onto the bill. So depending on what treatment your having remember it will literally be a ball park estimate and that doesn't include the generous amount of VAT they add onto it all:mad:

Luckily my vet is pretty understanding when it comes to the fact that my 2 are not insured and I have limits on the treatment I can provide. Any treatment I get offered, they ring the office and get the price list so i know what to expect! He was out the other day to my cob who has suspected arthritis and x rays just to confirm this or steroid injections are just not in my range of affordability. My vet has agreed to work on everything as much as he can as cheaply as he can. I rang him on emergency the other night as my pony was foot sore and he agreed that rather than get charged for a call out, he talked me through everything that my pony was to get, what food, amount of food, amount of medication etc etc and a lengthy discussion of what had brought it on. If you clearly state the position your'e in, they should be more than willing to help you. Your not the only horse owner who decides not to insure!
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I may have read that wrong, but its a bit harsh to imply that they add the VAT on purpose - and of course they record things meticulously - they have to buy everything into the practice - of course they have to charge it out to the client!! Vets have brains like seives - regually we sit in reception and point out that when they were out doing xyz horse, they also did ABC but they havent charged it - if we didnt, we would all be out of a job pretty fast !!!

BUT - having said that - its in nobodys interest to make things out of reach for owners, there are ways and means behind everything - and if it means that a horse gets the eqivalent of "value" rather than "finest" treatment, things can almost always be done cheaper to help people out who cant afford insurance or have horses that for whatever reason arent covered.
 
The vets I just used gave me an itemised estimate prior to an op and asked for a 50% (may have been less) deposit.

As they didn't use some things they had estimated for those were removed and when they found what was wrong they called me whilst the little fluffy in question was under GA to get authorisation to continue with additional stages in op due to that.

I'd ask for the same.
 
Yes get a cost for what has been done and an estimate for remaining treatment.

Have you told them you are not insured? It might be worth saying you have a financial limit - in case there is a cheaper alternative to some procedures :)

My vet gave an estimate of the costs of an operation. I had to pay before I could take the horse home. I got a call to say you can collect horse today - so I had to quickly arrange full payment using sisters credit card as I hadnt transferred money etc as I didnt know discharge was going to be so quick.

Hope your horsey is getting better.
 
idx said:
Yes get a cost for what has been done and an estimate for remaining treatment.

Have you told them you are not insured? It might be worth saying you have a financial limit - in case there is a cheaper alternative to some procedures :)

My vet gave an estimate of the costs of an operation. I had to pay before I could take the horse home. I got a call to say you can collect horse today - so I had to quickly arrange full payment using sisters credit card as I hadnt transferred money etc as I didnt know discharge was going to be so quick.

Hope your horsey is getting better.
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Thank you for answering - and to everyone else who answered too.
I have told them I'm not insured (the horse is in her twenties so no-brainer there), but the vets treating are entirely focussed on her welfare (which is fine).
Last time my other horse was in (and she wasn't covered by insurance) I told them they could treat her up to £5k then to let me know. They discharged her and billed me more than £6.5k - no discussion.
So you can understand that I am concerned about vet bills running away with me. :(
S :D
 
Owch - completely !! They should be able to give you a guesstimate of how much more it will cost while she needs to be with them though - keep asking till you get one. I think 10% over an estimate is acceptible, but that much is unfair.

good luck x
 
I would be tempted to ,politely, put your limit for treatment in writing and also emphasise that if treatment is to cost more then they should (a) contact you and (b)be prepared to accept the balance in instalments. No-one has a bottomless purse. I am sure your vets have your horse's best interests at heart, but best interests do not pay bills!

Worst case scenario, as long as you are paying off your bill, even in instalments, they would have trouble in bringing any sort of legal action.
 
When Little Cob was in for lameness investigation I didn't have the level of insurance cover that I thought I had (I am a fool).

I told the vets what the limit was. Said I wanted him investigated fully, but wanted to know a) when they had hit the insurance limit, b) an idea of the price list, and c) how much extra 'things' would be - emphasising that I needed to know before the treatment or they would run the risk of not being paid.

The vets were very good, maybe because I had had an issue with them once before, when something cost far more than I had anticipated and they hadn't advised in advance.

I would ditto the itemised bill for the work to date; a price list; and a list of anticipated work required.

I hope the horse pulls through okay.
 
It's part of practice standards that owners,are made aware of treatment plans and warned of potential costs. Although every senario and cost can't be guessed they should be able to give you ab estimate. I would put your budget in writing to them with a formal request to be notified when it reaches £500 below your budget. Also start having a chat with them about paying in installments if that helps you or your mare out.
 
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