How Healthcare Reform Affects the Medical Equipment Market

In recent years, the topic of healthcare reform has been thrown into the limelight with the Affordable Care Act and all of its subsequent revisions. Much has been said of the impact on insured and uninsured individuals, but not as much is written about how healthcare reform affects the medical equipment market. The effects can be complex and extensive, as we explore below.

Higher Demand

The entire goal of healthcare reform is to give more citizens access to healthcare. Because of this, a natural consequence of healthcare reform is a higher demand for products. As more people can afford to go to the doctor for necessary procedures, more medical equipment will be required to accommodate this need, which can, in turn, lead to a boost in the market.

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing

Another aspect of healthcare reform that can potentially boost the demand is the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing initiative. This initiative, enacted by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, gives incentive payments to acute-care hospitals for providing quality care. This creates a greater need for higher quality equipment, especially with the expansions in Medicaid brought about by healthcare reform.

Medical Device Tax

As much as healthcare reform has increased the demand for medical equipment, there have been aspects that have been detrimental as well. As part of the Affordable Care Act, an excise tax was initially placed on medical equipment. This tax puts weight on the industry by negatively impacting industry innovation and related jobs. At the end of 2019, this tax was repealed; however, its impact demonstrates how healthcare reform can potentially affect the medical equipment market negatively.

As our nation strives to make medical care available to a greater number of people, new laws are put in place to help achieve that goal. We can each do our part to provide quality healthcare in our spheres. With the healthcare industry constantly evolving, we at Med One Group will continue to offer medical equipment services so we can meet the growing demand for medical equipment.