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FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

ftc.gov

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Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#201

Post by snapetom »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #190
snapetom wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It is a sad and exploitative industry. What an insulting, belittling comment. I don't know why you think veterinarians are charities, and don't know why feel entitled to pay people less than they're worth. Veterinarians hold doctorates. Four years of undergrad, four years of vet school. Many emergency vets are board certified, meaning they've done an additional 3+ years in internships and residencies. In running a p…

So many HNers are libertarian right up until it concerns something they need. Then it's "why do I have to pay for that!?"

I lost my shit at a redditor for complaining about a $500 overnight bill. $500 for a doctor and three nurses to watch over your animal like a hawk for eight hours, plus IV and medicine, is a damn bargain. I thought HN crowd would be smarter than that.

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#202

Post by [deleted] »

Red_Leaves_Flyy wrote: post #39
munk-a wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it might be fairer to then say "I wonder why nobody says out loud that such an acquisition will definitely lead to a decline in service for consumers".

All the people with the platform to say that are on the take.

[deleted]

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#203

Post by ubermonkey »

My GOD I hate corporate vet clinics.

My dad was a vet. I'm older (52), but in the era and honestly well into my adulthood, vet clinics were generally sole proprietorships or sometimes professional partnerships. The name on the door was the ownership, not beancounters in an office tower somewhere.

So, took, are the vets I trust our pets with. But I have absolutely noticed this trend of corporate ownership and consolidation, and that has never resulted in better anything for customers or patients.

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#204

Post by samstave »

pc86 wrote: post #185
whimsicalism wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the Fed is a sanctioned quasi-governmental monopoly, just like the police or the taxman is. You'll note that "the Fed" was not in your original list. Also, definition is spelled definition.

Good luck arguing with someone who says "FIAT" as if that's the ace up their sleeve.

An ace up my sleeve? Definitions mean something, until they don't.

" What Is Fiat Money?

Fiat money is a government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, such as gold or silver, but rather by the government that issued it."

The Federal Reserve derives its authority from the Congress, which created the System in 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act. This central banking "system" has three important features: (1) a central governing board—the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; (2) a decentralized operating structure of 12 Federal Reserve Banks; and (3) a blend of public and private characteristics.

>>https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm

>>Some observers mistakenly consider the Federal Reserve to be a private entity because the Reserve Banks are organized similarly to private corporations. For instance, each of the 12 Reserve Banks operates within its own particular geographic area, or District, of the United States, and each is separately incorporated and has its own board of directors. Commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System hold stock in their District's Reserve Bank. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. In fact, the Reserve Banks are required by law to transfer net earnings to the U.S. Treasury, after providing for all necessary expenses of the Reserve Banks, legally required dividend payments, and maintaining a limited balance in a surplus fund.*

(Tell me you can read this in plain english and not see the amount of Spell-Binding) And the Government that issues it is backed only on the faith in the government, of the constituents that make up said government.

And the fact that the government is largely seen to be an oligarchy.

So the US dollar is a fiat currency, backed by the US government, which is backed by the people that live under said government...

And the people who back the government are?

THOSE IN GOVERNMENT.

Everyone else is.... starts with a P.

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#205

Post by swearwolf »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #28
jmyeet wrote: post #22

The term "end stage capitalism" (or the more palatable "late capitalism") I've heard a lot recently and things like this really make me wonder. The voracious and insatiable appetite for profit has led to some really disgusting practices for example: - Goldman Sachs driving up food prices, which quite literally kills people, for profit [1] - Hedge funds buying up trailer parks and jacking up the rates [2] - Medical pr…

> term "end stage capitalism" (or the more palatable "late capitalism") The problem with this language is it implies inevitability and a near-term conclusion. Neither is a given. You've correctly identified regulatory failure (specifically, our inattention to competition) at the root of these problems. Fighting that takes effort. When I hear the terms late-stage or end-stage capitalism, I hear nouveau nihilism. The s…

I may be wrong about this, but my understanding of the term is that “late-stage” refers to the system turning towards ever more predatory and self destructive methods of profit extraction to continue “growing” once the easy money to be made from resource extraction is exhausted.

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#206

Post by AlotOfReading »

jacksnipe wrote: post #99
AlotOfReading wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clinics are facing severe labor shortages. It doesn't matter what the demand is, because they have a limited supply of veterinary care to give. My partner's clinic recently became corporate-owned because they simply could not hire new vets to be able to take new clients. Any days off any vet took had to be covered by one of the others on their "weekend" or the clinic would be forced to shut down. Like other forms of…

But why can’t local clinics get new vets? Because they can’t pay them enough, because they don’t price gouge?

In addition to what snapetom said, there are about 4400 annual vet jobs and 3200 new grads. Someone is going to miss out.

Graduates who want to make money will go to commercial or fisheries operations, which pay better overall. We're in the bay area, one of the highest-demand regions in the highest-demand state. There aren't many people left to compete over. Corps are currently offering 5-6 figure sign-ons and bonuses in our area. Even if the salary can be matched and they accept, there's still the tech shortage snapetom mentioned. Those people are often commuting from places like Tracy to have reasonable housing costs and many have simply left the industry entirely. You can raise salaries, but there's still only a limited number of people with RVT licenses.

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#207

Post by shakes_mcjunkie »

dhosek wrote: post #175
shakes_mcjunkie wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They said that some PE firms were on a mission to acquire all of the vet firms in metro areas and then drive prices up even further because the demand is so inelastic. I searched recently for a nearby vet in Chicago and probably out of 15, only 1 was not owned by a larger chain or company. Big bummer. It's hard to trust that a vet that's part of a chain isn't going to have perverse incentives when it comes to carin…

My brother owns Merrick Animal clinic in Brookfield. The other thing to investigate would be independent vets doing house call practices which, assuming you can find one, would be cheaper than a clinic and much less stressful for the animals (my brother did that before buying Merrick 14 years ago).

Oh interesting I'm going to look into a house call vet!

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#208

Post by samstave »

whimsicalism wrote: post #107
samstave wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the Fed not a monopoly on your FIAT American Note? Just because they have "12 independent 'Member Banks'? You're understanding of a monopoly is outdated. Plus, you're likely to knee-jerk with a "Thats not the defenition of a monopoly!" Cool get all semantic on the third grade defenition of an insanely nuanced issue. Monopoly in the dictionary sense is the same as a fucking sound-bite from the news on a highly comp…

Yes, the Fed is a sanctioned quasi-governmental monopoly, just like the police or the taxman is. You'll note that "the Fed" was not in your original list. Also, definition is spelled definition.

>>Fed is a sanctioned quasi-governmental monopoly

Im sorry, where do I UNVOTE for 'sanctioned quasi-governmental EVERYTHING' and still live it what is called a 'democracy' OR -- IMAGINE THIS even a "representative republic*!"?

--

I forgot to mention, only a fucking moron replies on a tpyo!

You fail your username:

https://i.imgur.com/BoaqyUw.png

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#209

Post by conductr »

ensignavenger wrote: post #139
eatsyourtacos wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>why are consumers choosing them It's interesting that most people who like to defend the free market act as if consumers actually have choices most of the time. That's just simply not the case nearly all the time.. or it's a complete illusion of choice. Especially in any rural/smaller suburban area (of which the US predominantly is). It's not as if you have 1000 choices for everything around. That's only in large ur…

If there really is only one vet in an area, then how is it judged they are price gouging and not just charging market rates?

It’s not. That’s a hypothetical that nearly never happens. Or when it does the pet owner just gets to decide if they want to pay, let the pet go without, or travel to nearest competition. If a place is that rural, it’s likely the vet can’t gouge as they need to eat too and nobody would hire them

Re: FTC acts against private equity firm’s acquisition of veterinary clinics

#210

Post by acegopher »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #61

Vet clinics became very popular private equity targets recently. One of the people I know in PE described their profit margins as being surprisingly high even before PE roll-ups. They said that some PE firms were on a mission to acquire all of the vet firms in metro areas and then drive prices up even further because the demand is so inelastic. There was a secondary rush where people were trying to acquire vet clinic…

> They said that some PE firms were on a mission to acquire all of the vet firms in metro areas and then drive prices up even further because the demand is so inelastic.

This is why medical care (human or pet) and capitalism don't mix well. If you are having a heart attack, you aren't comparing prices, and if your animal "child" is throwing up, you aren't calling around various vets.

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