GOUGING ON VETERINARY CARE

Barbara J. Andrews, Publisher, Science Editor, SAAB

Medical costs are out of control because drug makers negotiate prescription sticker prices with pet insurance companies which then raise your rate…

This "formula" applies to both medical and veterinary insurance premiums.  Life Extension Foundation reported on prescription markups and loaded medical costs. In one cited case, a woman was charged $6000 for hospital administered anesthesia when she had recently undergone anesthesia in another hospital at a price of only of $1419. The anesthesia drug was available from a local supplier at $2.49 per dose.

The New York Times published an article entitled “how to charge at $546 for 6 L of saltwater.” In another example of outrageous gouging, a local hospital charged a private insurance company $91 “for a bag of saline that cost the hospital just $.86” Right. 86 cents.

Rip-Offs Have Infected Veterinary Medicine Since Pet Insurance

The average monthly premium for dog insurance in 2018 is $42.45, with a $500 deductible and 80% reimbursement. Meanwhile, veterinary pricing is driving hobby breeders to bankruptcy because we do not qualify for pet insurance.

Preston James, PhD is one of our most notable health writers. He sent this excerpt from Modern Medicine at the Crossroads by Donald Miller, Jr, MD^[1] who stated...

“The system is inherently biased to supporting prevailing views… State-sanctioned paradigms in the biomedical sciences that have gained the status of dogma and are not to be questioned include:

a) cholesterol and saturated fats cause coronary artery disease;

b) mutations in genes cause cancer;

c) a retrovirus called HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) causes AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome);

d) the damaging effects of toxins are dose-dependent in a linear fashion down to zero, where even a tiny amount of a toxin, such as radiation or cigarette smoke, will harm some people… and

e) vaccines are safe and effective.

In the real-world of medical decision-making, each of these dogmas deserve scrutiny. The government-controlled peer review grant system is a key tool for protecting paradigms like these. Researchers questioning them will not get funded.”

When two top medical-doctor-researchers expose such widespread fraud in human medicine, a wise animal owner will take heed. It is hard enough to protect ourselves from the legalized drug-pushers who deluge us with TV commercials but it is even more difficult to protect our animals from today’s pet care!

Canine Health Care Should Be Honest And Affordable!

Dog owners have fewer sources of reliable information on the applied value or side effects of prescription drugs. We love our dogs and we don’t skimp on cost when it comes to veterinary health care. Pharmaceutical companies know that and just as in human medicine, they create fear of disease while offering a prescription drug to cure or prevent it. The classic example is heartworm prevention “medication”.

The average cost for Heartworm Prevention is $8 to $10 per month, per dog. While I would never suggest NOT giving heartworm prevention, I stand by my 1968 decision to not poison my dogs. I have always lived in the south, have never given any kind of heartworm prevention and have never had a dog with heartworm. Every dog owner must ask themselves “is it better for my dog’s health to prevent something he may never get with a whole body poison or would it be safer to give him heartworm treatment if in fact he ever tests positive?” Heartworm prevention is pricey but heartworm treatment is punitively expensive, especially when the actual cost of the “medication” (AKA sheep wormer) is very modest.

Reference and Related Article Information:

^[1] Modern Medicine by Donald Miller, MD, how it's done > Veterinary Medication Marketing, and Instant Information ii THERAPY vs. CURE

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