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The WireBy The VeterinaryPracticeNow Desk3 min readSeptember 8, 2026
AAHA survey finds 86% of DVMs adjust treatment plans weekly over client cost concerns
The figure comes from a Pawlicy Advisor and AAHA survey that also found 13% of euthanasias are performed because owners can't afford treatment.
Eighty-six percent of veterinarians modify their recommended treatment plans at least once a week because of client cost concerns, according to a survey the American Animal Hospital Association and Pawlicy Advisor published recently.
What the 86% is made of
The figure comes from the "State of the Industry: The Impact of Pet Insurance on U.S. Veterinary Practices in 2026" report. Veterinary professionals said they have an average of "4.4 difficult financial conversations per week, up from 4 per week in last year's survey," according to the report.
The survey asked respondents at what price point recommended care is declined. The report states that "85% of survey respondents reported $1,000 or less," and that 47% "reported clients declining care costing $500 or less."
The report also found that "an average of 13% of euthanasias were performed because pet owners were unable to afford treatment," according to respondent estimates.
The insurance adoption gap
The survey found that 87% of respondents "agreed that pet insurance helps clients accept recommended care, with 73% observing better treatment compliance when caring for insured pets," the report states. But the report also found that "only 39% of teams often discuss insurance with pet owners."
The report states that "almost 70% of survey respondents reported barriers to discussing pet insurance with clients." The two most significant barriers were insufficient time during appointments, which 27.7% of respondents cited, and "uncertainty about which insurance provider to recommend," which 21.5% cited. The report also found that "eight in 10 reported feeling uncomfortable recommending a specific insurance provider because of the legal risks of doing so without an insurance license."
In the report, "Woody Mawhinney, chief executive officer of Pawlicy Advisor," said: "What's preventing veterinary teams from discussing insurance doesn't appear to be skepticism in the product, but what many believe is the time the conversation takes and the fear that the conversation will end in a request for a policy recommendation that veterinary professionals aren't licensed to answer."
What the survey does not tell you
The report does not break out the 86% by practice type, ownership structure, or geography, so we don't know whether corporate-employed associates and independent-practice DVMs are modifying plans at the same rate. It also does not specify what "adjust" means clinically, whether that's dropping a diagnostic, staging a procedure differently, or substituting a less expensive drug.
The survey also does not track how often the modified plan produces a worse outcome, or how often the DVM's first recommendation would have changed the case. That gap matters, because the moral-injury conversation in this profession hinges on whether we're compromising care or offering a range of clinically acceptable options.
What this means for a three-doctor practice
If your DVMs are each having the 4.4 cost conversations per week the survey reports, those conversations add up across the practice, and if 85% of them involve estimates at or below $1,000, the issue is not the emergency surgery that costs five figures. The issue is the routine diagnostic workup, the dental with extractions, the staged treatment plan for the chronic case.
That $1,000 threshold sits right where payment plans, CareCredit, and pet insurance positioning all come into play, and the survey data suggests most practices are not having the insurance conversation early enough or often enough to change the outcome. The report found that 60% of respondents said "a comparison marketplace staffed by licensed experts is most likely to help clients choose the right coverage," and that "57% reported being interested in free resources from an independent pet insurance marketplace."
The 86% figure confirms what every associate knows from Tuesday morning's appointment block, but it also names the specific workflow gap. The insurance conversation is happening too late, if it happens at all, and the legal-risk concern around recommending a specific provider is real enough that eight in 10 DVMs won't do it. The practices that solve for that gap, whether through a third-party comparison tool or a staff member with an insurance license, are the ones that will move the 4.4 weekly conversations off the associate's plate and back into the estimate-acceptance process where they belong.
The complete report is available on Pawlicy Advisor's website.
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