Veterinary Inflation Observations

Have you been wondering recentlywhy your veterinary care feels like it costs so much more than it used to? You are not alone.

I was digging into the inflation numbers over at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and I was fascinated by the difference between veterinary inflation (yes, they do track such a thing!) and theconsumer price inflation.

For example (see graph below), if I look at January 2007 toMarch 2011 (just about as long as weve been selling pet insurance policies), while my wages went up 10%over that time (yay!), my vet bills went up 25% in the same period (ouch!).Vet bills are definitelytaking up more of a bite out of my free cash than they used to.

Another point to note, the Consumer Price Index is defined as the change in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services andVeterinary Services are just a subset of those goods and services. The representativebasket of goods is based on typical family spending in 2007/2008 so changes in the types of veterinary services (such as more TPLO surgeries or MRIs) are not reflected.

So chances are, as veterinary medicine has grown in the last 3 years, and more complex and more costly procedures are more common, your veterinary spending increases are even more than those shown above.

Its amazing we can afford our cats and dogs at all, dont you think?

If you are wondering what impact veterinary inflation has on pet insurance premiums, check out my blog post onhow inflation and other factors affect pet insurance premiumsusing Trupanion as a case study.

Just for fun, heres another graph for 2001 – 2011. It really shows thebite into yourhousehold incomeover the last10 years.

CPI – All Items US City Average Seasonally Adjusted
Veterinary Inflation – Veterinary Services US City Average Seasonally Adjusted????

Online Cars Insurance Quote

Get a Full Coverage Auto Insurance