Understanding and managing the rising cost of pet healthcare

Vet Talk

- Teo Boon Han

With rising living expenses and increasing pet ownership, the issue of veterinary fees has also come to the fore.

It has been reported that veterinary fees have increased by up to 20 per cent over the last few years.

Comparisons are often made between the cost of human health services and veterinary healthcare. Pet owners often shell out more for their pet's veterinary visits compared with their own, which may surprise some.

It is a false comparison.

First, Singapore's public healthcare system is subsidised substantially by the Government and supported by MediSave, and a mature private health insurance system. These schemes are absent in Singapore's veterinary healthcare.

Second, unlike human medicine, there is currently no veterinary programme in Singapore to provide a stream of fresh graduates who are required to serve some years in a public healthcare system.

Veterinarians spend at least five years pursuing an overseas degree at their own cost—which can be around $1 million—racking up significant debt to fulfil their dream to help animals.

Also, the scope of services at many veterinary "general practitioners" is substantial, including surgery, anaesthesia, imaging, dental and laboratory diagnostics. Each veterinary clinic is actually a mini hospital with associated costs.

For a true comparison, one should compare veterinary fees to unsubsidised human medical care at private hospitals.

WHY ARE VETERINARY FEES RISING?

In Singapore, government spending on human healthcare quadrupled from $3.7 billion in 2009 to $15.2 billion in 2020, and is projected to hit $27 billion in 2030.