MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Health equipment giant Invacare Corp. (NYSE:IVC) isn’t getting much bang for its political buck, according to chairman Malachi Mixon.
The company has spent nearly $8 million on lobbying efforts since 2005 and Mixon and his wife have independently donated more than $500,000 during that time, but Invacare hasn’t seen many decisions sway in its favor.
"It’s like pushing a wet noodle uphill," Mixon told Cleveland.com. "But it doesn’t mean you don’t try."
Invacare has lost in efforts to push back a Medicare competitive bidding program that it cutting into its bottom line and a Medicare payment cut on home oxygen supplies, and is having little success in pushing back against the 2.3 percent excise tax set to go into effect in 2013.
Bundling medical care may be a pipe dream
Three sites attempting to make use of medical care bundling to reduce costs have moved along so slowly that not a single one has made or received a bundled payment in 2 to 3 years, the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog reported.
5 tips for FDA review
A smooth trip through the FDA’s review process relies on getting regulatory staff involved early, planning ahead for cash flow and clinical trials, doing your homework on predicate devices and taking clinical trials overseas, according to MedCity News.
TransMedics’ heart incubator gets the star treatment
TransMedics OCR Heart incubating device featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy entitled "Heart-Shaped Box," according to a press release.
Baxter and Medbury sync product data
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) and Medbury, a Canadian GPO, became the first to merge medical-surgical product data and synchronize product identification numbers through the GHX ConneXion data pool to establish a single source of data for supply chain transactions, according to a press release.
