Dr. Fife,
I wanted to provide some follow up on the “Tale of Two Wounds”. Eventually, Wound #1 cost Medicare (and the taxpayer) almost half a million dollars whereas Wound #2 cost less than 1% of that. And since the patient is responsible for 20% of those Medicare charges, Wound #1 cost the patient (or the secondary insurance) $99,760, whereas Wound #2 cost the patient $900.
I did not make much money treating Wound #2, but the PT and NP who treated Wound #1 made a total of around $124,700 each (they arranged a 50:50 split of the discounted pricing from the distributor). Given the potential revenue that these products represent, I understand why they are used unnecessarily and why manufacturers and clinicians are fighting so hard to keep the price per cm2 as high as possible.
However, what I don’t understand is how the price per cm2 of amniotic products can differ by over 1000% if they are all “minimally manipulated”?
I hope the reimbursement changes suggested by CMS will at least ensure that the cost of these products will be reasonable, but I am sure that lobbyists will have their way.
Thank you,
Ward Bowron, PT, DPT
wbowron@wyomingwoundcare.com
Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and my Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/carolinefifemd/videos
The opinions, comments, and content expressed or implied in my statements are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the position or views of Intellicure or any of the boards on which I serve.
