MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Hospitals are looking for relief from high medical device costs, and that could mean even more pricing pressure on med-tech makers, according to hospital group purchasing organization Premier.
Nearly three-quarters of hospitals surveyed said they were open to cheaper alternatives to expensive medical devices as Medicare reimbursement shortfalls left them with billions in losses, a Premier report found.
A survey of 323 hospitals revealed $1.82 billion in reimbursement shortfalls for 12 types of heart and orthopedic procedures involving implanted devices, MarketWatch reported.
While the pressure is on, it’s nothing new for the med-tech industry, which has dealt with pushback from hospitals before.
"We are not strangers to price pressures," AdvaMed senior executive VP David Nexon told MarketWatch. "The bargaining is pretty vigorous right now."
Yesterday, MassDevice reported on a growing trend of patients opting against elective surgeries that may help with hip or knee pain due to concerns about out-of-pocket costs and concerns about a sluggish economy.
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