Calculating expected revenue based on device-makers’ SEC filings, Mr. Young said that the fees the industry would pay would be recouped by increased demand for products, caused by a proposed expansion of coverage to currently uninsured Americans.
However, a representative of AdvaMed, the trade group for large devicemakers, presented evidence that Mr. Young’s calculations were flawed and a Zimmer representative argues that expanded coverage wouldn’t have much effect on hip and knee replacements because they are mostly for Medicare patients, who are covered already.
Mr. Young, making the keynote speech at the Orthopedic Device and Technology Conference and Exposition in Fort Wayne, was referring to a proposal by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to levy a $4 billion annual fee from large device-makers to help cover the cost of expanding health coverage and other reforms.
Read the Journal Gazette’s report on a health reform device industry fee.
