Therefore there are some very real incentives for veterinarians to keep their costs affordable for clients who are paying the entire amount out of pocket. If it gets too expensive, a lot of people simply will not seek care for their pet, and there goes any opportunity for the vet to earn a fee. And any veterinarian could probably tell you about clients who will have an animal euth’d rather than pay a couple thousand dollars for surgery.

I’m not sure why this article is trying to pin it all on defensive medicine or the lack thereof. It seems to me that the intrusion of health insurance is by far the bigger factor here in the disparity of costs.