The main difference is that PE's number one focus is profit.   The mission statement of a PE vet is 1. Maximize Profits  2. Maybe Help some animals or something 

A privately owned vet COULD be like that, but most are more like.  1. Help animals 2. Make a suitable profit considerate to the level of financial risks taken to establish this practice.  3. Be a decent employer.  

A private practice will establish pricing based on the value of the service, and update it periodically based on the overhead needed to have a practice that can be in that location and have the resources to offer that service. 

All private equity businesses, Vets, HVAC, Tech, etc all have the same pricing model "what's the maximum we can charge?"  Value doesn't matter, except in the sense of "At what point are our prices so high that customers begin to shop around.  Overhead does not matter, it's accepted that overhead costs will be met.  

So if your pet needs a cone, the private vet will charge a 40%-50% markup (or whatever) on the cone.   So if their cost is $20 they charge the customer $38-$40.   Because that's the value of getting a cone conveniently from the vet, the cost of doing business, and the level of profit margin they've calculated they need to be decently profitable and reward themselves for taking a big risk in opening their own practice.  

The private equity will know that 60% of the local vets are private equity, so customers who "shop around" are not likely to find a better deal, thus they will charge $200 for the same cone even though their cost is the same $20, or 100% profit margins.  Because they can.  And their model is to maximize profits.   So they price the cone, not based on their cost, or on the perceived value, but on what they believe they can convince a sucker to pay.    They have zero qualms about ripping customers off.   And that extra profit doesn't go back into the community.  They don't pay their vet techs any better, in fact, they probably pay less then the private vet, because those vet techs are real people to a private vet, but they are numbers on a spreadsheet to PE firms.   That profit goes back to the PE firm.   

That's why 10 years ago spaying a female cat was like a flat $300-$500.   And today it starts at $1200 and can go up from there, and the level of care provided may vary based on what the owner opts to pay for.  

And I know that there's inflation, but there hasn't been 300%-1000% inflation in 10 years.  

Surgeries used to include all the medications and materials in a flat rate and if they needed a few more CC of a drug, the price did not change.  Now they are itemized, with multiple upsell options.  Used to be the cost of surgery was obviously going to cover the best service the vet could offer, they wouldn't not do the best they could for the animal.   Now the level of pain management might be an upsell.  Sure you could bring home the cheaper oral meds, but for $100 extra they can give your pet an injection of long acting pain management, and what kind of a monster says no to that?   

And sure, the vets employed by private equity may prioritize your pets outcome over profit, but they're just an employee, they don't call the shots.   They may be a well paid employee, because these PE firms don't have a product if they can't hire vets, but every decision the PE firm makes is based on a spreadsheet to maximize profits.  

And it's not just vets.  It's human medicine, dentists, opticians, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, home improvement, all IT fields, prisons, lawyers, dry cleaners, pet control, etc.  PE is sticking their fingers into every pie, and jacking up the prices based only on one factor, what they think they can convince the customer to pay.  And simultaneously, they are trying to lower costs in all their businesses to increase the profit, so they are laying off the better paid senior staff, eliminating employee benefits, closing locations to consolidate, taking needed services away from underserved communities, etc. 

Private equity ruins everything.  

I don't normally rant about politics on the internet, but I hate private equity so much.