Posted by Michael Wonder on 12 Mar 2017
Battle over hips and the hip pocket as prostheses costs fight heats up
12 March 2017 - Australia's medical technology bodies are gearing up for battle as the cost of replacement hips, knees and pacemakers becomes ground zero in the quest to lower private health premiums.
The cost of prostheses within the private health system has been blamed as a factor behind increasing premiums, with health insurers complaining they pay more for items on the list than public hospitals.
This week will see private health insurers and medical device companies square off against each other at a Senate inquiry into the price regulation for the Prostheses List, which the government uses to regulate the cost of hip replacement devices and the like.
