Discounted vet care for employees

[winglessflight]

I was curious to see what other people who work at veterinary offices got for a discount on services and products, and if there was a correlation between the discount and size of the hospital.

I work at a 3 doctor clinic and get free exams and free surgeries as long as I tech off the clock. For products, I get everything at cost. Everybody that works there, part or full time get the same discount The downside however is I don't get paid the best hourly wage.

At another 3 doctor clinic I worked at, part time people got a 20% discount, and I think that full time got 30-50% depending on what it was.

What does everyone else get?

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[PrimalMU]

Supposedly, the IRS limits employee discount to 20% before the rest has to be taxed.

 

[winglessflight]

I know of at least four veterinary clinics in the area that give discounts larger than 20%, and i think its unlikely that they would do that if it weren't allowed. i've never heard of that, but have only worked at vet clinics, so maybe it doesn't apply?

 

[bovine]

I get products at cost and free exams if I can catch the Dr when he is not busy.

 

[david594]

Free surgeries?... that would be some wishful thinking.

Free exams, 20'ish percent of procedures(surgeries), most products I think are around cost.

Free heartguard and advantage through the reps.

 

[PrimalMU]

I'm not sure of the fine details of the 20% discount. However, this site [http://www.unclefed.com/AuthorsRow/GretaHicks/what.html] says regarding employee discounts:

- No additional-cost-services: Services offered for sale to customers and available to employees are non-taxable to the employee if the employees use of the services does not cost the employer any additional moneys. (Frequently used by air line employees.)

- Qualified employee discounts - Employees may receive a 20% discount for service and a percentage equal to the employer's profit percentage in the case of goods that they purchase from the employer.


So, maybe it doesn't matter. If veterinarians are salaried, then services wouldn't cost the business extra money for the time it takes to render the services and therefore should fall under the first item above. Then, the way I understand it, any items bought from the employer can be sold to the employee at cost.

At the vet hospital I worked at, all I had to pay was cost for everything (drugs, blood work, etc). I was able to get my dog's teeth cleaned for $60.

 

[LVT2DVM]

Maybe I can clear up the 20% rule. Its 20% discount for services involving taxable product. Ie if your doctor pays tax when they purchase product and then use it to treat your pet, they cannot discount product more than 20%. If your office discounts it more than that they are not in compliance and subject to an audit.

Professional services, ie doctors time, can be discounted at the discretion of the physician. So if they want to give employees free exams, free surgery they can do that BUT client has to pay 80% of surgical materials.

Most clinics give food at cost + tax and shipping (if applicable), this is totally fine since it falls in the 20% rule since markup on food is typically low.

Back to the original question.

Ive worked at several clinics all did something different. Some give you an employee bank of a certain dollar amount credit on your account (say $500) and then once you use that you pay dollar for dollar just like a client. I personally didnt like this and neither did most employees.

Others discounted pet care as I describe above. 20% off products, food at cost. Ive never had a vet give free professional time. Most Ive had was 50% off which included outside lab fees since most labs discount BW 50% for employees.

CVPM recommend discounting prof services at least 30% because the object
of the discount is to allow employee pets the ability to receive optimal level care and in return your employees will whole heartedly recommend to your clients without price guilt. Ie Client asked assistant "What would you do if it was your pet?" Assistant answers "I would do definately do XYZ because I did that when it happened to my pet and it went great!" Of course they did, they got a discount, but the client doesnt know that.

Its called Internal Marketing...I think? Cant remember exactly.
If the vet isnt discount prof services at least 30% then his staff is not getting the best care for their pets, unless he is paying them VERY well which could be the reason they dont discount as much. But not likely. Of course as an employee I prefer 50%...

 

[PrimalMU]

It probably has to do with the size of the practice. At the clinic I worked at, there were 4 doctors, and everyone was friends (more or less). I imagine that with bigger practices theres more of a separation between doctors and staff and therefore the doctors may not be as willing to discount their services...

Oh, well, just a theory.

 

[veggirl]

At my clinic, we get food and products at cost, exams are free, vaccines are $2 each (don't know how he came up with that number), and all other treatments/procedures/bloodwork are 50% off. As long as we tech off the clock, and we do the cleaning, I have to pay for 1/2 off sedation only for dentals. We also get free heartworm/flea products from reps and we get one free adult/senior wellness plan a year per pet from Antech. All discounts are good for up to 3 pets only (unless you are taking in a rescue...then the Doc sympathizes). Our clinic has 8 vets (usually 3-4 on at a time depending on the day) and we are a normal clinic during the day and an emergency clinic at night (open 24 hours).

 

[Steelmagghia]

We get a discount, and it's definitely a good one, but it changes with the prices (which change regularly), and it's so convoluted that the vet who owns it and the office manager are pretty much the only people who know what it is.
I know that is cost me less that $10 for most products and that exams are at the doctor's discretion to charge for it.
There are 7 vets at my hospital.

 

[philomycus]

We get zero discounts. Zero. That's the downside of working for a very small clinic.

 

[winkle1983]

I work in a 6 doctor emergency hospital. I get 50% off procedures, no professional charges, discounted flea/heartworm stuff once a year at a discount (not a great one, but still one). I've taken my son (he's a dog!!) in for stuff that required him to vomit (he eats some strange things), and I wasn't charged...sometimes it depends on what doctor is on and how busy they are...lol

I did work in a small clinic for about a year...we got a 20% discount on exams and that was it. And we got paid crap! lol...thems the breaks!

 

[bakaduin]

I used to get services and exams for free. Paid cost on most other products. The practice was recently bought by a new doctor and now your discount depends on how many years you've been there and the max is 80% off all services.

 

[adOggy07]

I work at an emergency clinic (corporation: VCA)... about 10 doctors.. 25 techs... everyone who is an employee never gets charged and "office call" and everyone who is part-time gets 50% off all services (bloodwork, surgeries, etcetera). Everyone who is full-time gets 75% off all services. I don't think all VCA's offer the same kind of discount.. I think it depends on the manager. And there are no limitations on how many pets can receive discounts.

At another emergency clinic I'm at.. an even larger practice with 20 doctors 100s of techs.... but privately owned... we get all of our lab work free (all bloodwork, all u/a's, etcetera). Then the discount breaks down as follows:

First 3 pets (#1,2,3): 60% discount
Next 3 pets (#4,5,6): 40% discount
Next 3 pets (#7,8,9): 20% discount
Over 10 pets: zero discount

Pretty sweet discount I think for both of the hospitals that I work at!

 

[TCVM808]

I think our employee discount is around 40% on average. It is a little complex and some things are discounted more than others. I know certain doctors will sometimes not charge for the office exam at their discretion. Novartis has also provided free 12-mos. samples of Sentinel or Interceptor for the past two years. We also get Christmas coupons from our local veterinary supplier every year. Those of us who recently attended a seminar with a speaker from Fort Dodge are supposedly getting free ProMeris samples...

I am really going to miss my discount!

 

[NittanyKitty]

At ours, meds, food, and products are 20% off for all employees. Services, exams, tests, etc. are around 40-50% off for part-timers and are even cheaper for full-time staff; some things are even free! I don't think we have people "taking advantage" of the discounts, but it's really nice to be able to pay $40.00 total for annual PEs for three animals.