X ray costs--is this crazy?

[fordtraktor]

i had my trusted vet take x rays of front legs up to the fetlock on fronts only. I was shocked today to receive an $800 bill for only that ($1100 once you add sedation, farm call, basic vaccines because it is a young horse and we vaccinated while already sedated).

that just seems way high to me on the films. I doubt we took more than 6-8 total films. Worth inquiring or am I still stuck in 1999 prices? FWIW, the bill listed “multiple views” but since I was holding I really believe it was 8 or less, 6 I recall).

[barnesthenoble]

That seems quite steep. For recent rads I’ve had shot, I got 4 views of front feet for, I believe, $120, and then 4 or 6 views of hocks for $250. I’m in CA, too, so not a particularly cheap area. I would have a heart attack if I got an $800 bill for rads.

[Dutchmare433]

That seems crazy…and I just pulled up a bill from last year, each view was $62.53. The time before that it was more views at once and it was discounted down around $55. And that’s in Connecticut.

Just pulled up a different bill from Fairfield Equine (other CT residents will know how expensive they are), and rads were $76 a pop, which would be discounted from that for a greater number of views. (So even though that’s pretty expensive, it’d still bring your bill down to around $600.)

[ryansgirl]

That does seem excessively high. I had a couple shots taken back around December when my mare showed up one morning almost dead lame. We took a couple to make sure there was no additional rotation (she’s had laminitis in the past so we keep a close eye on her). Thankfully it was just an abscess. I don’t have the bill in front of me but they were about $55-60 for each (about the same price when we took shots of both front feet the previous year). I’m in NH if that makes a difference.

[kmwines]

Pricing somewhere around $50 for setup and then $50 per shot. So total full foot rads/navicular would be 5 per foot. If fetlock included it would be 4 views per fetlock.

[walkinthewalk]

I haven’t had anything but hoof X-rays . My vet charges $25 per X-ray. I carry the horse to the clinic to get his shoes re-set; the X-rays are part of that. “Package”.

[IPEsq]

That’s too high for the number of views you recall. But to do feet to fetlocks on both fronts could get you up to 7 or 8 views each side and that would make sense for the price.

[horsepoor]

Just paid $550 for both front feet on a PPE (6 views each IIRC) and another $200 to do one hock (4 views) so $800 for feet and fetlocks, if I’m understanding you correctly, doesn’t seem that far out of line. I’m pretty accustomed to $45 to $50 a view for x-rays, so the front feet being a package price on my PPE was kind of nice.

My farrier was just telling me about working on a foundered horse that the vet was there x-raying as they worked (cut some foot off, x-ray, take more, x-ray again). I said, wow, good that the owner is willing to spend that much to do things right and my farrier said, well x-rays are only like 25 bucks right? I laughed – I think I paid $25 a view back 20 years ago, when they were still taking them to the local hospital to develop (pre-digital).

[trubandloki]

@fordtraktor

i had my trusted vet take x rays of front legs up to the fetlock on fronts only. I was shocked today to receive an $800 bill for only that ($1100 once you add sedation, farm call, basic vaccines because it is a young horse and we vaccinated while already sedated).

that just seems way high to me on the films. I doubt we took more than 6-8 total films. Worth inquiring or am I still stuck in 1999 prices? FWIW, the bill listed “multiple views” but since I was holding I really believe it was 8 or less, 6 I recall).

In the first line you say you trust this vet and then you add in the second paragraph that they list more shots but you do not believe them. So clearly you do not trust your vet.

Like others have said, they probably took more shots than you realize.

But the bottom line is, if you are not sure just call up this trusted vet and have a conversation. Better yet, next time you need something like X-rays ask what the price will be before they do the work.

[fordtraktor]

Trub, I do trust my vet. He is a great vet and has done good work for me for 6 years, consistently. His billing office is not always the best/had recent turnover. I doubt he’s even seen the total. The bill doesn’t list the number of shots, just “multiple” which is extremely vague. Multiple covers my recalled numbers and the sky’s the limit really so I don’t know how many shots were taken. The bills never say but I had feet done in Dec and it was $160! I think this must just be a billing error and I will call the billing person.

Do people really not read their bills thinking it will offend the vet if they inquire about a fee? That is absurd considering how many thousands I spend there every year! if it is right I will of course pay it. But I was expecting more of a $750 bill, got an $1100 one, and was surprised. I just didn’t want to ask if it was totally normal but it seems many people think it is high. and this is Indiana, not the coasts – our costs are normally a bit lower.

It’s actually $1175 so closer to $1200.

[trubandloki]

Thank you for clarifying on the wording on the bill. That does seem vague and if it is not the typical billing for this vet I would for sure call.

@fordtraktor

Do people really not read their bills thinking it will offend the vet if they inquire about a fee? That is absurd considering how many thousands I spend there every year!

Can not speak for others, but I for sure look at my bills and ask questions if they do not make sense. That is why I suggested having a conversation with your vet.
I just had a bill that made me say ‘wow’ when I saw the total amount. I went thru it line by line and nothing seemed high and everything was accurate. It was simply more than my brain had imagined it would cost.

[findeight]

Ask them to itemize that before you pay it. Meaning list how many shots were taken and the per shot price. That’s not a difficult or unreasonable request. Take 10 minutes to research and copy to you.

It seems high but if they took 12-15 shots or more, that would explain it.

Something else to keep track of next time the they are out…:rolleyes:

[beowulf]

wowza. that is incredibly high! I wonder if it is an entry error…

I just got full rad sets, 6 shots each of both pasterns last fall: $275

And you know Holden being Holden, had just about his entire body x-rayed AND ultrasounded a few weeks after his accident (with many sedatives) and the first visit was still under $1100. That included multiple images of his neck, spine, and pelvis.

My vet tends to charge $20ish per slide. I think he’s very reasonable.

Maybe with the turnover, someone “guessed” what multiple views were. Since you’ve been with that vet for years and have a good relationship with him I would just ask for clarification and politely ask if perhaps there was a mix-up.

[IPEsq]

Trust me, with the many thousands in imaging I have spent from pre purchase to date, you can be sure I read my bills. My vets have always itemized out the images. And they don’t charge me for the ones that didn’t turn out right and were retaken, with the beauty of digital machines. But I’ve heard that occasionally happens, which seems like bad business practice. Although my boy is such a fun case they will sometimes take images of him “for practice” at no charge.

[fordtraktor]

Yikes,IPEsq! glad my horse isn’t on the “gosh will you look at that” program! I feel your pain though, this winter has been totally ridiculous. I spent thousands on my old horse with laminitis and put him down anyway. The old “2017 horse show budget” appears to have been spent without ever leaving the farm. That’s horses, I know, but it still sucks.

[Heinz_57]

I just did a full set of front feet and hocks back in December and IIRC it was around $295 per set - I have copies of all 19 views, so it was ~$30 per slide. My bill didn’t list the number of slides, just gave the area and the price, I think it’s “zone” pricing versus a per-view rate.

Assuming they are digital, you could always call and ask them to email you copies for your records; that would tell you how many were actually taken and give you a clear idea of whether they are gouging you on the price without having to ask for an itemization.

[cayuse]

About two months ago I had four shots of my minis stifles and a lameness exam and it was $300 including farm call.