Here's an eloquent expression of the opinion that
hearing
aid markups are too high.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2013
First, let me just say that-the last time I
looked-the practice of bundling prices for hearing care services and
products is not on the list of mortal sins. I know a ton of dispensing
professionals-probably some of the best in the nation-who do not unbundle
their prices. And I understand that there really are a few good reasons
(besides the old answer "because that's how I've always done it") why most
professionals prefer to keep their prices bundled. However, as our market
continues to change and new threats to the conventional distribution
system emerge, I think it's in every hearing care professional's best
interest to unbundle their product and service pricing. In this issue of
HRP, long-time contributor Amyn Amlani, PhD, gives us perhaps the most
persuasive reason yet: increased perceived value. With unbundled pricing,
this study shows that there is a transparency that the experienced
consumer perceives. For the inexperienced consumer, unbundling provides an
enhanced sense that, in Dr Amlani's words, "minimizes the value that a
hearing aid is a high-risk, low-reward investment."
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2013
Even though consumers can pay thousands dollars
for a single hearing aid, a CBC News investigation has found that the
actual cost of making a hearing aid averages around $150. That figure
comes from the operator of Audicus Inc., an online company that
distributes hearing aids direct from the manufacturer at a reduced cost to
customers around the world. Audicus president Patrick Freuler says he has
broken out the cost of a typical hearing aid, based on his own research
with manufacturers. "The typical cost to produce a hearing aid [is]
anywhere between $50 to up to $200," Freuler said in an interview from his
office in New York. He said the price depends on how many features are
within the hearing aid, whether or not it hasBluetooth capability, or
multiple channels and microphones. "It can go all the way down to the tens
of dollars. But if you want to take an average cost, it is $150," said
Freuler. Prices of hearing aids at Audicus.com range from about $400 to
$600.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 2013
Fresh on the heels of an order from the Food and
Drug Administration to remove a hearing test from its website last spring,
hi HealthInnovations is pushing further into the hearing aid market with a
new discount program for military veterans and their spouses. The company,
an affiliate of insurance behemoth UnitedHealth Group, made a
controversial entry into the hearing aid market in 2011 when it offered
direct-to-consumer hearing aids at sharply discounted prices with no
out-of-pocket costs to some Medicare Advantage members. Veterans could
prove an extremely lucrative market for the company. Hearing aid sales to
the Department of Veterans Affairs comprised 20 percent of more than 2.1
million total units sold through September, according to the Hearing
Industries Association. (HIA Statistical Reporting Program. Third Quarter
2012.)
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2012
hi HealthInnovations, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH) company and Optum business, has launched a new program to make
hearing aids more affordable for U.S. veterans and their spouses. The new
program offers veterans and their spouses high-quality, custom-programmed
digital hearing aids for as little as $649 to $849 each, depending on the
model chosen. That compares to some hearing aids that retail for as much
as $4,000 each. Hearing loss is a growing health concern for some
veterans, in part because of their history of noise exposure experienced
during their time of service. Hearing loss is the second most common
health condition among veterans, affecting more than 670,000 members of
the armed forces nationwide, according to The Hearing Journal. To access
the discount program, veterans work with a health professional, such as an
audiologist, hearing aid dispenser or primary care physician, to get their
hearing tested.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 2012
I watched as my husband climbed our hardwood steps
and stopped to pick up a coin that fell from his pocket; he had heard it
bounce on the floor. Earlier in the day, he had called me at work to ask
if we should "do something" about the black crows that have nested in our
front yard tree. "They make a racket," he told me. Last night at dinner,
we were able to have our first conversation in five years that didn't
require shouting to be heard and later, as we watched "Parenthood" in bed,
the TV volume was comfortable for both of us. Yes, my husband just got
hearing aids -- one in each ear. They sit diminuatively and hidden behind
each ear, truly invisible to the eye. How something so small can function
so large is a wonderment. They set us back $4,000, which means we will be
making budget sacrifices to pay for them. And here's the real rub:
Medicare won't pay a dime for them. My husband is 77 and one of the 38
million Americans who needs help hearing. There is a strong relationship
between aging and hearing loss: 18 percent of American adults 45- to
64-years-old, 30 percent of adults 65- to 74-years-old, and 47 percent of
adults 75-years-old or older have a hearing loss problem, reports the
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 2012
The crackling noises coming from my left ear
weren't a good sign. Last year, when my decade-old analog hearing aid
started making popping sounds, I knew I had to replace it. But because
hearing aids are so costly and generally aren't covered by insurance, I
had put it off. I soon learned that in the last 10 years, purchasing a
hearing aid had become even more difficult and confusing than buying a new
car - and almost as expensive. The first salesman I visited, in Los
Angeles, looked at the hairline fracture on my wax-encrusted aid. He
warned me that it could shatter in my ear and advised me to get a new one
on the spot. Alarmed, I visited Hearx, the national chain where I had
bought my previous aids. There, a fastidious young man spread out a
brochure for my preferred brand, Siemens, and showed me three models. The
cheapest, a Siemens Motion 300, started at $1,600. The top-of-the-line
model was more than $2,000 - for one ear. I gasped.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 2012
To many people, hearing loss represents another
step in the dreaded march to old age. In fact, only about 20% of the 36
million Americans who could benefit from a hearing aid actually use one,
according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Diseases Many audio-speaker manufacturers are jumping into the hearing-aid
market due to a recent FDA ruling that hearing-assist devices could be
sold over-the-counter. Melinda Beck has details on Lunch Break. Photo:
Patrick Conlon/The Wall Street Journal. Now, a wave of new devices that
are smaller, hipper and sold over-the-counter are trying to win over more
consumers-and appeal to the growing number of younger people with hearing
damage from loud music. One upcoming model is a smartphone app. Others
look like MP3 players or Bluetooth headsets. Some can barely be seen at
all. They're also less expensive: Traditional hearing aids can cost more
than $4,000 per ear and aren't covered by Medicare or most insurers. Often
likened to "reading glasses" for the ears, many of the new models come
preset to boost sounds in the high frequencies that most people lose
first. That lets consumers bypass audiologists, who have traditionally
controlled the market by giving hearing tests and selling
custom-programmed hearing aids. Technically, many of the new devices are
"personal sound amplification products," or PSAPs, intended to help people
with normal hearing better hear in situations like noisy restaurants and
large gatherings, according to Food and Drug Administration guidelines
issued in 2009. Hearing aids, by contrast, are medical devices for the
hearing-impaired and subject to FDA approval, the agency says.
Full Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2012
The healthcare industry is failing to address a
massive, treatable epidemic. 36 million Americans suffer from hearing
loss, a number that is only increasing as the population ages. Hearing
loss has been linked to chronic disease, depression and even reduced
earnings, and the health benefits of treatment are clear, with studies
showing that hearing aids profoundly improve quality of life, and can even
prevent brain atrophy. Nonetheless, the hearing care industry seems
content with a status quo characterized by inflated costs and low
adoption, in effect turning a deaf ear toward untreated hearing loss.
America's hearing aid market is broken. Given the benefits, a consumer
might reasonably expect the free market to provide a selection of
affordable hearing aid options. That consumer would be sorely
disappointed. Today you can walk into an Apple store and take home an
iPhone for $650, but if you want to buy hearing aids you'll have to shell
out around $5,000. To put this number in perspective, Apple spent about 23
times as much on research and development last year as William Demant, the
manufacturer of Oticon hearing aids. Hearing aid adoption has stagnated
around 25% for years and increasingly high prices have surely played a
role.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2012
The online hearing test developed by hi
HealthInnovations and designed to prescribe amplification for the
company's hearing aids has been taken down for "enhancements", according
to the company as originally reported online by the American Speech
Language Hearing Association (ASHA). There is no mention about when the
test will go back online, and hi HealthInnovations did not immediately
respond toHR. Currently, the test is preceded by a Web page that provides
instructions on how to get a hearing test that states: "Ask your physician
for a hearing test. We have provided hearing test kits to many physicians,
but if your physician does not have a kit, please ask them to call [phone
number]." When one clicks on the "Start Hearing Test or Enter Audiogram
Results", which at one time brought visitors to the "Home version"- the
most controversial of the company's hearing tests-it now only allows
visitors to enter values from an audiogram.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 2012
You may be starting to get an understanding of why
this is not a simple problem to tackle. And, really, it's just the
beginning, as the Embrace Hearing co-founders tell us that there's even
more friction when it comes to distribution. Audiologists (health care
professionals who specialize in hearing, and the loss thereof) control the
majority of sales in the U.S. market. While these specialists provide
essential services, they use the sale of hearing aids to their own gain,
often charging markups of three to five times - because they can. Not only
that, but the clever business people they are, they bundle re-fittings and
follow-up visits into the cost, generally using this as the explanation
for why hearing aids cost so much. The Embrace co-founders say that the
reality of the situation, however, is that only 20 percent of customers
make five or more visits to audiologists in the year after being fitted
for the device. For those who fall into that category, the insurance and
other benefits might make sense, but for most it doesn't.
Full Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 2012
HLAA likewise has always encouraged consumers to
work closely with a hearing health care professional they trust as the
best way to become a successful hearing aid user. But let's take a step
back and ask ourselves if this traditional approach is reaching most
people who could benefit from hearing aids. We all know the answer is no.
With 75 percent of people who could benefit from hearing aids not taking
steps to treat their hearing loss, we are failing a large percentage of
people who could improve their quality of life, remain independent into
old age and stay on the job without retiring early. The hi
HealthInnovations approach is new and untried. A lot hinges on the
accuracy of the test they plan to use to triage the best candidates for
open-fit amplification, how well the devices work, and whether or not
first-time users can be successful hearing aid users without face-to-face
care. Is it going to work? Only time will tell. But let's give it a chance
and not sabotage it from the outset so that consumers can be the ultimate
judges.
Full Story
