Medical supplies so expensive:
Her experience is another example of facial medical pricing, which often doesn’t reflect what things really cost but what healthcare companies believe they can get through. The healthcare system itself can be fragmented; in many parts of the country, there are only one or two companies that provide health insurance or medical care. In a discussion about rapidly rising healthcare costs, pricing for medical services and products is inevitably directed. For example, the ECRI Institute categorizes half a million supplies purchased by hospitals into 2,278 categories in the institute’s Universal Medical Device Nomenclature System (UMDNS).
Suppliers generally oppose initiatives to lower Medicare fees and pose potential threats to beneficiary quality and access. These arguments have sometimes proved convincing for beneficiaries and lawmakers. In a highly competitive bidding environment, unselected suppliers would lose their Medicare business, at least for the categories of deliveries for which they were not selected, which would cause a sharp decline in business as Medicare accounts for about half of the business of many suppliers. However, to do something about it, doctors must be told how much the supplies they use actually cost because that’s a huge blind spot for them. The Medicare fee exceeded supplier website prices by 37 percent and was more than double that of the wholesaler and negotiated supplier prices.
Wynn from Centers for Medicare %26 Medicaid Services shows that durable medical supplies are so expensive by around 20 to 25 percent. Compared to Europe, where drug prices are regulated by the government, this is often based on the clinical utility of the drug. These policymakers may find that the United States spends far more per capita on medical devices than the world’s second-largest buyer of medical devices, Japan, or the third-largest buyer, Germany (Table 5-). The category of durable medical devices includes medical devices for use in the beneficiary’s home with a useful life of 3 or more years.
Suppliers will quickly discover that Medicare incurs costs that aren’t reflected in internet pricing, including beneficiary education requirements, billing, maintenance, and new requirements for accreditations and sureties.
This blog does not provide medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. Do not use it as a
substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or disease prevention. Always seek the
advice of your physician or qualified healthcare providers for any questions you have regarding a medical
condition.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of the original authors and other
contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Gabriel Nieves, LAC
Healthcare Solutions, LAC.us Staff, and/or any/all contributors to this blog/site.
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