Suzanne Cannon co-Founder of VetBilling - A Flexible, Creative System Helping People To Pay For Veterinary Bills In A More Holistic Way on ”Why Do Pets Matter” hosted by Debra Hamilton EP 220

I can't wait for you to listen to this podcast with Suzanne Cannon co-founder of VetBilling.com. 

She has created an amazing service that can help every pet owner figure out a way to pay for their pet's veterinary care. 

VetBilling's flexible, client-friendly payment solutions allow veterinarian teams to deliver affordable relationship-centered care when a client may have otherwise been forced to make a different choice.

Quite frankly, it blows my mind that every veterinary clinic in the country isn't using the VetBilling.com service. So, if your veterinarian isn't offering this as a payment option, we're going to tell you how to get Suzanne's information to them during the show.

Why are pets important to Suzanne? In her own words -- Pets are the one way we experience unconditional love while we are alive on Earth. 

"I have loved animals probably since I took my first breath! Which was interesting to my parents who raised me in Los Angeles, with very few animals around our neighborhood and none in our household. But if animals were around anywhere, I'd find them and befriend them. 

From the time I was 3, I was obsessed with horses; I rode my first horse at 4; started taking lessons at age 6, and by then I'd gotten my first cat and dog. My connection to animals is not something I can logically explain, but they matter deeply to me as sentient beings who enrich our lives enormously, model unconditional love and acceptance, and call us to be better versions of our human selves. 

I cannot imagine my life without companion animals in it. 

I'm also an introvert, and it's often easier for me to feel more comfortable with animals than people. I feel a deep spiritual connection with animals, and I hold them in reverence as sacred beings."

More about Suzanne Cannon:

Suzanne co-founded VetBilling® in 2014, after a $ 4,000 emergency vet bill awakened her to the realization that too many pet owners lack accessible options for financing the cost of veterinary care. VetBilling’s mission is to keep pets and their families together, by reducing economic euthanasia and surrenders driven by lack of access to the credit and cash reserves necessary for managing unexpected veterinary expenses.

Suzanne has presented on the topic of financial access to care for Maddie’s Fund, the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition, Cornell University’s Center for Veterinary Business and Entrepreneurship, VetPartners, and the Veterinary Science Technology Program at SUNY-Delhi. She has also created two RACE-approved CE courses on managing client financial constraints in the veterinary clinical setting. 

Suzanne holds an M.S. in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University of Maryland and an M.A. in Jewish Studies from Baltimore Hebrew University. With a prior professional background in pastoral counseling, Suzanne is passionate about helping veterinarians and pet owners identify financial solutions in a collaborative atmosphere of emotional safety.

Suzanne lives on 4 acres in the rolling countryside of Carroll County, Maryland along with her partner in life and in business, Tony Ferraro. Together they share 3 dogs - an Otterhound, Scout; a miniature schnauzer, Finch; and Sophie, a Maltese that was inherited from a relative who recently passed away. Suzanne also owns Chase, a Clydesdale/Thoroughbred cross, who is retired from foxhunting and dressage and now enjoys hacking out on wooded trails as often as possible. 

Resources Mentioned During The Show:

Link to credit article Suzanne mentioned during our conversation:

https://vetbilling.com/excellent-credit-score-declined-for-credit-yes-it-happens-to-your-veterinary-clients/

VetBilling Info and Website:
https://www.vetbilling.com

The business Suzanne co-founded with her partner 10 years ago, VetBilling, is one solution for mitigating the cost barrier to care. 

VetBilling’s mission is to keep pets and their families together, by reducing economic euthanasia and surrenders driven by lack of access to the credit and cash reserves necessary for managing unexpected veterinary expenses.

VetBilling equips veterinary practices with a cloud-based payment management platform that allows veterinarians to confidently offer in-house payment and budgeting plans to the 60% of clients who are ineligible for conventional credit-based financing. 

Open Door Veterinary Collective:

https://www.opendoorconsults.org

This nonprofit organization teaches veterinary practices how to sustainably expand access to veterinary care while remaining profitable and financially healthy. 

Frontiers in Veterinary Science, brief research report: "Payment options: An analysis of 6 years of payment plan data and potential implications for for-profit clinics, non-profit veterinary providers, and funders of  access to care initiatives" 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.895532/full

Connect with Suzanne and the VetBilling Team:

https://www.facebook.com/VetBilling

https://www.instagram.com/vetbilling/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/electronic-billing-&-customer-support/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannecannonvetbilling/