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Insurance issues slow prosthetic market

The global market value for prosthetics will rise slowly in the next few years, from just over $1 billion in 2014 to approximately $1.21 billion by 2021, hindered by reimbursement difficulties, according to an August 25 report by London, UK-based research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The increase, which will occur across the 10 major markets of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, India, China, and Brazil, represents a tepid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6%, the report states.

Insurers are increasingly emphasizing the requirement for strong clinical evidence before granting reimbursement for newly approved advanced prosthetic devices, and reimbursement issues remain the largest obstacle to growth in this medical device segment, said Jennifer Ryan, GlobalData’s analyst covering medical devices.

“Emerging technological advancements in prostheses that improve user comfort and functionality, including devices wired into the user’s nervous system, offer an exciting frontier for market growth during the forecast period, providing reimbursement issues can be resolved,” she reported.

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