Evolving reimbursement and pricing policies for devices in Europe and the United States should encourage greater value

C. Sorenson, M. Drummond, L.R. Burns

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Rising health care costs are an international concern, particularly in the United States,where spending on health care outpaces that of other industrialized countries. Consequently, there is growing desire in the United States and Europe to take a more value-based approach tohealth care, particularly with respect to the adoption and use of new health technology. Thisarticle examines medical device reimbursement and pricing policies in the United States and Europe, with a particular focus on value. Compared to the United States, Europe more formally and consistently considers value to determine which technologies to cover and at what price, especially for complex, costly devices. Both the United States and Europe have introduced policies to provide temporary coverage and reimbursement for promising technologies while additional evidence of value is generated. But additional actions are needed in both the United States and Europe to ensure wise value-based reimbursement and pricing policies for all devices, including the generation of better pre- and postmarket evidence and the development of new methods to evaluate value and link evidence of value to reimbursement.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)788-796
JournalHealth affairs (Project Hope)
Volume32
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2013

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