ER vet vs Regular vet

[Taz_Zoee]

Ok, so any of the cat/dog people may have read in Taz's vet visit thread in Cat General that Taggart got a fox tail up his nose last week.
It happened Thursday night (the same day I just had Taz at the vet!). He was very uncomfortable and sneezing up a storm so I took him to the ER vet. Bruce said don't go over $200, because we are planning a road trip on the motorcycle later this summer.
They give me the estimate and I about fell over. The low end of the estimate was $632 and the high end was $1005. I called Bruce and he started yelling and just flipping out. He said forget it, bring him home and I'll take him to our regular vet tomorrow. Fine, I told them and they began finishing the paperwork. I still had to pay $90 just for the visit.
So luckily he was fine all night. It only seemed to bother him when he was running around and breathing hard. Bruce dropped him off at the vet and he told them - I sure hope you are cheaper than the ER vet. And I had talked to the vet that morning and she said she was glad we waited and brought him to her. She has had it with the ER vet.
Well, I picked him up Friday night and the bill was $332 and that was including some meds for Taz. So it actually only cost $300 for Taggart. Less than half of the low end estimate from the ER vet!

Don't get me wrong....I absolutely LOVE this ER vet. They are always extremely nice and very caring. I've had Zoee in there several times in the past few years. So we have decided we will not take them there unless it is a life and death emergency.

Has anyone else experienced such a HUGE price difference with your ER vet?

[pomtzu]

Fortunately I've never had to use one, but I imagine that they are all much more expensive than a regular vet.
If you go to the ER rather than your own doctor, you would pay thru the nose, I'm sure. Seems to me the same would be true of an ER for pets.

[IRescue452]

Yes, big difference. I'm sure there's a whole lot of people that have to put down their cats and dogs because they can't wait for the regular vet to open and can't afford the ER vet. To add insult to injury they usually have crappy payment plans too.

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes, Ellie, I agree.
One thing I forgot to mention in the original post. When I was on the phone with Bruce and he told me to just bring Taggart home, I told the receptionist this. She said - well you are already $90 into it and it's not going to cost much less at the regular vet. The only difference is the $38 emergency hours fee.

Yeah, apparently NOT!!!

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes, big difference. I'm sure there's a whole lot of people that have to put down their cats and dogs because they can't wait for the regular vet to open and can't afford the ER vet. To add insult to injury they usually have crappy payment plans too.

This one has NO payment plans at all. I'm sure I could use Care Credit, but that's about it.

[Glacier]

My ER vet and my regular vet are the same clinic. Someone is on-call overnight and weekends. It does cost me 115 dollars to get the door unlocked and 50 bucks an hour if the on-call doc needs to call in a tech to assist with something. The overall prices for services tend to be about the same though.

When we lived in the city and actually had an ER clinic, the prices were radically higher there.

Over the years I've gotten much more selective about what requires an er visit. Tehya waited overnight with a throat full of foxtails last summer. Uncomfortable, but not life-threatening. Basically we go to the ER now with only major wounds, significant blood loss, seizures or something dramatic that came on very suddenly. High pain things, like porcupine quills often get a vet runt too(some of the dogs will let us pull quills) .Fortunately, I have a fairly well stocked critter pharmacy so I can handle alot of stuff at home, at least til the clinic is open again. I'm often there when the receptionist unlocks the door in the morning.

[Cinder & Smoke]

I have a fairly well stocked critter pharmacy so I can handle alot of stuff at home,
at least til the clinic is open again.

I'm often there when the receptionist unlocks the door in the morning.

I'm surprised you don't have your Own Key to the place,
and a personal set of Scrubbies always at the ready in the Clinic.

[krazyaboutkatz]

My current vet clinic is also an ER clinic. If you just walk in as an urgent care case even during normal hours it'll cost more to be seen. I've had to do this with both Storm and Ziggy but luckily Ziggy's was considered an urgent care recheck so it basically cost me the same a regular office visit. If you go after normal hours then it costs even more just to be seen. I've never had to do this yet.

When Storm became blocked 2 times I did have to take him to an ER clinic and it did cost a lot just be seen. It was a different place than the one I currently go to. There are some things that can't wait until morning. One time Sunny was having urinary problems and they offered to check out his bladder for free. I was surprised to hear this but I didn't actually see a vet. A vet tech came out and did this. I then made a regular appointment the next morning for him at my vet.