If your dog takes a daily pill, the fee your vet charges just to write the prescription now has a legal ceiling in the UK.
The Competition and Markets Authority published the order on 22 September. The cap is £21.40 for the first medicine on a written prescription, VAT included, and £12.70 for each additional medicine, roughly $28.65 and $17.00. No separate admin charge is allowed, and the caps hold until 31 March 2028, then adjust for inflation each April.
Compliance is staggered. Big groups with 15 or more practices must comply from 23 March 2027, and businesses with 14 or fewer from 23 September 2027. The order applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The numbers explain it. During its investigation the CMA found plenty of practices charging £30 or more for a written prescription, while more than 70% of owners bought long-term medication from their vet even though many could save £200 a year by buying online.
The cap is only part of it. Vets will have to offer a written prescription out loud during any consultation where they prescribe something, hand it over by the end of the visit or send it digitally within two working days, and say plainly that medicines may be cheaper elsewhere. Price lists, itemised bills, written estimates for treatment likely to top £500 and disclosure of who owns the practice arrive on similar deadlines.
What this means for your dog
If you are in the UK, ask what the prescription fee is and price the medicine yourself before you pay the practice. No US version is coming, but the habit travels. A chronic medication at a markup is a bill you pay every month, and vet bills are already pushing owners to skip care. Ask for the written script.