Abstract：
Access to cochlear implantation can be restricted by financial burden, and little is known about the extent to which cochlear implant (CI) devices prices may vary between hospitals or manufacturers. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of private payer-negotiated prices for CI devices. In total, 161 hospitals were analyzed. Prices varied widely across hospitals and between payers. Despite clinical equipoise between manufacturers with regards to CI user outcomes, significant differences in prices were identified, with higher prices for MED-EL ($38,478 ± 2633) than for Cochlear Ltd. ($34,150 ± 2418, p < .001). Markup analysis for Cochlear Ltd. devices revealed a mean 58.5% ± 7.4% markup in excess of the company\'s average sales price ($24,649). Negotiated prices were also at least $5000 lower when all 3 brands were offered at the same center (p < .05). Further research examining the influence of patient outcomes and hospital volume on prices are needed.
摘要：
获得人工耳蜗植入可能会受到经济负担的限制，对于医院或制造商之间的人工耳蜗（CI）设备价格差异的程度知之甚少。我们对CI设备的私人付款人协商价格进行了横截面分析。总的来说,161家医院进行了分析。医院和付款人之间的价格差异很大。尽管制造商之间在toCI用户结果方面存在临床平衡，确定了价格的显著差异，MED-EL的价格(38,478±2633美元)高于耳蜗有限公司(34,150±2418美元，p<.001)。对CochlearLtd.设备的加价分析显示，平均加价超过公司的平均销售价格（24,649美元）的58.5％±7.4％。当所有3个品牌都在同一中心提供时，谈判价格也至少降低了5000美元(p<.05)。需要进一步研究患者预后和医院数量对价格的影响。
