In Canada (at least in my experience) it's the opposite. Vet clinics look a lot like US medical centres, including the state-of-the-art equipment and corresponding prices. Meanwhile the limited for-profit medical services are (mostly) affordable because they do general procedures with relatively low barriers for competitors. Generic drugs are dirt cheap when available; non-generics cost as much as the US. Dental care is all over the map from very affordable to ridiculously overpriced.
Another Canadian here with a similar experience— friends with dogs even pay for insurance because of the potential for frightfully expensive private surgeries down the road. Though I do wonder if there's a psychological thing there where dogs form stronger bonds and so people go to greater lengths for them, whereas other animals are easier to let go of if circumstances indicate that the time has come.
And yes, dental care is all over the map— it feels very much like what I imagine US healthcare to be, with co-pays and mystery charges and having to log into my insurance company's online portal to do stuff. The NDP made a bunch of noise in the last election about a national dental plan, though even that effort would only have covered family incomes up to CAD$90k [1], so it wasn't anything like the universal no-questions coverage we have for core healthcare.
> And yes, dental care is all over the map— it feels very much like what I imagine US healthcare to be,
Funny enough, dental insurance in the US is very straight forward. I have always gotten quotes up front with very clearly explained charges. The way it has worked is dentist talks over with me what they want done, billing person runs the numbers and gives me paper with estimates, and if I agree I pay whatever balance I owe on the way out.
Amazingly straight forward, kind of like how everything else should work...
FWIW Eye doctors and insurance on glasses works just as well.
Ha, I mean that's basically what it is in Canada as well— it's just so much more than going to the doctor, where you never even see a bill.
An example of my frustration with dental: I went to my usual dentist for a checkup, but then he referred me to a specialist. The specialist appointment wasn't going to be for a month, but then they call suddenly and have a cancellation the next day. I end up having to pay full price for the specialist appointment because my insurance doesn't like that I had two "assessment" appointments back to back.
On another occasion, I was quoted a procedure, and my decision for when I wanted to have it done was driven entirely by which insurance-year it was going to fall under, rather than by my convenience or how urgent it was, or anything else.
I know these are fundamentally "insurance issues" and I suppose better supplemental insurance could make them go away, but at the end of the day, just like with Americans, my insurance is chosen by my employer and I have basically no control over it.
It's uncommon here in Norway, unheard of in fact as far as I am concerned. I have a checkup once a year that includes a really thorough cleaning procedure and x-rays. That costs about 120 USD. If I need a filling that will probably add about 100 USD at the most and the two crowns (milled ceramic done on site, on demand) that I have cost about 500 USD each so over the last thirty years I have spent about 6000 USD on dentistry, so an average of 200 USD per year.
Do people in the States not pay for pet insurance?
We sure did go for it in Toronto. Vets seem to charge by the pound (wait, sorry, kilogram, immigrant…). Large dogs seem to come with large medical bills, and we were strongly advised by friends and family to go for pet insurance.
Now, I am not actually sure that pet insurance, versus setting up a dedicated savings account that we sock money into, was the best idea. If anything, we went for it because I am from the States, and I assume any non-trivial medical issue will be cripplingly expensive.
I don't. Part of the reason is I'm ok with a small chance of a few thousands dollars bill, but a bigger reason is I don't trust insurers: their standard contract would first explain how I have no rights and then add that if I have a problem with that, I can go to their pocket court (arbitration) to learn that I really have no rights.
It's available, and some people pay for it. I would be very careful to read all the fine print though.
For me, the cost of routine care, spay/neuter, and a certain amount of unforseen expenses should be part of what you plan for when you get a pet. Beyond that, it's a judgment call as to whether the cost of some treatment is worth it. I know people who have spent thousands of dollars treating cancer in an old dog, and others who have euthanized younger pets who developed expensive but in theory treatable health problems. I don't think either approach is wrong, it's up to the owner.
My dog just had major knee surgery (TPLO). Its cost will be total of about $5k when we have some x-rays in a few weeks. I don't have pet insurance, however, most companies don't cover it. There are tons of loopholes, like human insurance.
Vets vary widely in the US. Vet clinics are wildly expensive in many locations here, with veterinarians earning well-paid doctor wages and using modern vet equipment.
They can, but they vary. I'm a citizen of both countries and there's one allergy medicine I take where the generic price in the US is the same as the name brand price in Canada. The name brand in the US is 7x higher than the name brand in Canada.
