February 20, 2008 - A new study has found that pending congressional legislation seeking the mandatory disclosure of prices for certain medical technologies would likely result in increased prices and “provide no tangible benefits to patients.”

The study, released at the National Press Club by its authors Robert W. Hahn, executive director, Reg-Markets Center and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Hal J. Singer, president of Criterion Economics, examines the potential economic impact of the Transparency in Medical Device Pricing Act of 2007 (S. 2221), recently introduced in the U.S. Senate.

In the report, the researchers review previous attempts by governments to impose price disclosure rules in a number of other industries including cell phones, groceries, cement, barges, railroads and long-distance telephone services. The authors use evidence from case studies and other sources to identify four conditions that, if satisfied, imply that mandatory price disclosure would provide large benefits to consumers or other purchasers.

"We found that mandatory price disclosure, as proposed in S.2221 is unlikely to benefit patients or hospitals and worse, will likely increase costs," Hahn said.

The authors write that in order for price disclosure to have a favorable effect, there must be large search costs that are reduced substantially, and that the pricing information disclosed be current. The industry-specific market conditions essential for lower prices to occur would require that any savings be passed on to end users, and that there is a large variation in the price paid by purchasers and consumers.

The report finds that the conditions that would likely result in large cost increases as the result of pricing disclosure are met.

Specifically, the report finds that:

- The medical device industry is concentrated among a few firms

- There are few, if any, economical substitutes for many medical devices

- Competitors repeatedly interact in the marketplace

- Some medical devices are standardized whereas other devices are differentiated

- Firms do not already know their rivals’ prices.

The report’s findings conclude that:

- Significant search costs for hospitals and patients would remain

- Disclosure would not provide current price information since the data would be at least three months old;

- The structure of the health care industry would not ensure that hospitals pass cost savings on to consumers

The study was supported by the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

For more information: visit www.criterioneconomics.com


Related Content

News | Radiology Business

July 25, 2024 — Immunis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotech developing groundbreaking secretome therapeutics for age and ...

Time July 25, 2024
arrow
News | RSNA

July 23, 2024 — Professional registration is open for RSNA 2024, the world’s largest radiology forum. This year’s theme ...

Time July 23, 2024
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

July 23, 2024 — Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that an artificial intelligence (AI) model ...

Time July 23, 2024
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

July 17, 2024 — Hyperfine, a groundbreaking medical device company that has redefined brain imaging with the world’s ...

Time July 17, 2024
arrow
News | Prostate Cancer

July 11, 2024 — GE HealthCare’s MIM Software, a global provider of medical imaging analysis and artificial intelligence ...

Time July 11, 2024
arrow
News | Prostate Cancer

July 2, 2024 — A new editorial paper was published in Oncoscience (Volume 11) on May 20, 2024, entitled, “Deep learning ...

Time July 02, 2024
arrow
News | Clinical Trials

June 27, 2024 — Prenuvo, which makes whole-body MRI screening for early cancer detection and other diseases, has ...

Time June 27, 2024
arrow
News | Pediatric Imaging

June 25, 2024 — Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, one of the nation’s top pediatric health care systems, today ...

Time June 25, 2024
arrow
News | MRI Breast

June 12, 2024 — Royal Philips recently announced the 1,111th installation of its revolutionary BlueSeal 1.5T magnet ...

Time June 12, 2024
arrow
News | Radiology Business

May 29, 2024 — Strategic Radiology added a third California member to the nation’s leading coalition of independent ...

Time May 29, 2024
arrow
Subscribe Now