Cost

What is the typical price/cost of an Accent Pacemaker?

13 Comments

Costs

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-11 02:01:36

Hi!

I once asked a rep from my manufacturer, Sorin, how much a pacer actually costs. He said, depending on the model, somewhere between 1500 - 6000 Euro (ICDs, CRTs are more expensive). Then I said, home come all the U.S. people end up with these extrodinary high bills after a pacer implant - he just shrugged.

Now that you posted this question, I googled it searching German websites only, and found the following:
Single-chamber: ~ 1000€
Dual-chamber: ~ 2000€
CRT: ~ 4000-7000€
ICD single-chamber: ~ 7000-15000€
ICD dual-chamber: ~ 8000-15000€
CRT-D: ~ 10000-20000€

For the U.S. I found this info:
http://health.costhelper.com/pacemaker.html (not sure if it's a reliable source, though)

In Germany you never get any hospital bills, unless you have private insurance (in that case you pass it on to the private insurance company, and it pays it all, no co-shares). So, I cannot say exactly how much mine was. I think the Sorin rep said my dual-chamber Reply DR is around 3000 Euro.

Inga

Good Question.......

by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-11 04:01:17


..........I am going to have a Box + Leads rip out next Thursday and a Single Lead right shoulder new kit replacement.

Having grown a little fond of Old Sparky I asked my Surgeon if I could have the old 'box' as a souvenir. "Sorry Mr TM, we are not allowed to give them away anymore..people were chucking them onto the fire and blowing up thier houses...also, ..yours still has 184 months battery life left ,so we sell them to Vets.

So...if you live in the UK and have , lets say, a big old fat dog with a cardiac condition..its entirely possible that it might get T-Mans old Sorin Sparkmaster.

I offered a few quid for the old box,. but no deal...shame as it would have made a brilliant pendant.

A Sorin basic two wire job costs about £500 +all the costs of installation

I have spent more than £500 on a good pair of Rolf Vector Pro bike wheels + aShimano Titanium cassette.

In the UK you pay for the wheels yourself but get the Pacemaker for free...

The National Health Service....creaking, but , never lets you down. This morning my tecchie, Lawrence greeted me like an old pal...hand shake .".and good to see you T-Man hows the running..? Andy (one of my cardios, Andrew Houghton Consultant) said that he saw you in town and he says that you were looking good..."

Here in the UK..cardiac care, along with all clinical care,..rolls along,.staffed by some of the finest in the World.

I am, and will be, forever humbled by the service that I have received

Pardon the rant....Thursdays GA Op is a bit scary

TM

I live in Oklahoma, USA

by guido911 - 2013-01-11 08:01:25

I was just curious how much mine cost. I am more than 6 weeks post implant and no probs. Very blessed...

Snitch........

by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-12 05:01:49


.....for those who inhabit the 'Brave New World', let them gaze into their Martinis and weep...

My Open Heart surgery,,,,,FREE

My Ist pacemaker ...FREE

My 2nd Pacemaker...FREE

All the care between all these proceedures..FREE

My-oh-my..what a sad society I live in...Woe is Me

Thank you very much, my Freind Snitch for your support and understanding. Here in the UK people pay good money to end up being treated in Flagship Hospitals in private rooms , by the same surgeons that deal with me...sorry for my language , but they dont even get a decent wine list to go with the food. (Carrot and Coriander Soup..very good and home made at Gkenfield ,.Leicester UK )

Snitch,..not sure about the \Sorin..I have heard the Glenfield have just had a great big delivery of ..1978 Lancia Beta Soft top Coupe Pacemakers...a little rusty ,..but good on a warm morning...they do look stylish though..

I'll get back

T-M

Basically terrified

Not at all sure

by guido911 - 2013-01-12 06:01:17

Not sure what the point of boasting about "free" healthcare is in this forum is all about. But rest assured, I appreciate you wasting my time telling me about it.

TM

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-12 11:01:18

Hi again!

Tattoo Man, in Germany the answer you get from the doctor is: Of course you can keep your old pacer, you (your insurance) has paid for it, so it's no-one's, but yours. We are not allowed to keep it, we would just throw it away. If you like to have a model of your Sorin pacer, you can e-mail Sorin, because they have models that you can actually put on the fridge (magnet). I have a model of my Reply DR, but when it was sticked to the fridge, my friends were a bit terrified ;)

Am very happy with the care you get here, too. I only see bills when I have had an inpatient procedure, because I have - for 30 euro/month - additional private insurance that covers that I get my own room and have the professor attending to my case. And then when I get such a bill, I just send it in, and insurance pays it 100%.

However, even in those private bills never exceed a few thousand euro. Even with an open-heart surgery, it was just 4000 euro while in the U.S. you easily get billed something like 80.000 - 100.000 $. I have no idea what our poor American fellows are being charged for.

Hope you'll get through your surgery just fine. Are you going for a Sorin pacemaker again?

Best wishes
Inga


I see things more plainly

by guido911 - 2013-01-13 03:01:09

I began this by asking what I thought was a simple question. In part it turned into "my country's health care system is better than yours". Meh. I have 24/7/365 access to medical care at NO cost, NO insurance crap. NO Euro premiums. And NO government handouts. All, in the comfort of MY HOME. (I wonder if ol TM can figure me out). And I wonder how simple the braggarts in here must be given that I was asking a question about how much the PM cost AFTER I had it implanted. Could it be that the expense was far less than after thought?

What about a "thank you"?

by golden_snitch - 2013-01-13 04:01:40

Guido, no reason to get rude and call others here "baggarts"! Especially not for someone who posted a question, got some answers - I even searched the www in order to answer -, but did not even say "thank you" to those you answered.

I think when a question of costs comes up, it's ok to post how high/low they are in different countries - and it's ok to be thankful for good and/or free medical care. And I really do wonder what you in the U.S. pay for when the same procedure in Europe is about 1/10 of what you pay, I really do. If the difference was only a thousand dollars or so, I'd not wonder, but with these extreme differences, it's a question I think I'm allowed to ask.

Inga

Relative costs of PM's

by donr - 2013-01-13 12:01:26

A few weeks ago, Boxxed wrote a small monograph about the economics of PM's in the US. Very interesting reading.

The bottom line is that there is no way we can determine the true costs of any medical device or procedure in any country to compare it w/ our own (Whatever country we lie in). There are confounding economic & political factors that we are not priy to.

Even w/i the US, there are signficant differences in cost for the same procedure in different geographic areas. Just as the price of a hotel room differs, so does the cost of a procedure. Try comparing the cost of gasoline in Shreveport, Louisiana w/ that in Hawaii. Or between Savanah, Georgia & Atlanta, the state capital, about 250 miles away. Savannah, for strangers, is a major seaport on the Atlantic Ocean; Atlanta is landlocked & accessible from Savannah for transport of gasoline by highway & pipelie.

Let me give you an example of purchasing power on price: The US Veterans Administration buys hearing aids by the tens of thousands. Every couple of years, they open up the contract for purchase for a fixed period of time. For the past two or three contracts Phonak, a Swiss company, has won the competition, which is based soley on technical aspects, followed by a negotiation over price. The two hearing aids I wear cost approximately $1700 on the open market. The VA pays less than $275 for them.

We do not know who buys PM's in Germany, the UK or Australia. Nor do we know how many they buy at a time - those factors make a big difference in the cost of the item.

Any discussion here cannot bear much fruit - but it can start arguments. If someone wants to brag about something,let them - we might just learn something about health care in another location. I know I have.

Don





Manners

by guido911 - 2013-01-16 01:01:55

I have had it with the Emily Post freak out going on in here. I was seeking information and trying to obtain facts about the cost of a PM. I expected this process to take some time and get quality input, then provide a summary of what I learned and a concluding shout out to all of appreciation. Instead, I get some unsolicited buffoonery that wants to turn my simple question into some class warfare/envy BS, which Inga and now Ian thinks is oh so appropriate. If it makes you two feel better, I will from now on issue a public, and heart felt "thank you" to every single inquiry--even though I would never expect that sort of response because I do not assume that not getting a "thank you"means I am NOT appreciated. Sheesh.

As for healthcare as a whole, I am not even interested in what goes on in neighboring Texas, much less in socialized medicine countries. Mainly, because I and my family have access to the very very best in the world.
Incidentally Ian, it doesn't take very much for you to be "amazed" does it?

Courtesy

by IAN MC - 2013-01-16 03:01:38

Guido Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I've always believed in courtesy. If someone does me a good turn I thank them immediately.Perhaps you work differently in Oklahoma !

Inga is one of the most helpful knowledgeable people in the PM club ... she went to a fair amount of trouble to answer your rather vague question as did other people.

You asked how much a PM costs, Tattoo man gave an answer " It costs us nothing " here. I didn't detect any bragging ; it is partly a cultural thing but we are VERY proud of our National Health Service.

You haven't filled in your bio, as Angry Sparrow pointed out; so people didn't even know which country you were from. These bios are there for a reason ; they enable us to give people as much appropriate help as possible.

Your rather staccato question did not not make it clear that you were after info on costs AFTER implant .. we are not psychic !

I'm delighted that Oklahoma has the very very best health care in the world . I'm sure that your statement is based on your extensive world travels !

So you are not even interested in the healthcare in the next state, let alone another country ........ as you lie in your Oklahama bed tonight ask yourself a simple question

" Am I only interested in myself ? "

Ian

Guido.....................

by Tattoo Man - 2013-01-16 05:01:26


.......................an Oklahoman..doubtless proud of the Literature that America has written to represent you,?

John Steinbeck...this Guy championed the 'Oakies'that set out to California, duped by commercial interests, to arrive , despite thier long standing history of fine upstanding farming.

Look to the final moments of Grapes of Wrath to, truly understand what compassion and charity really means

Tattoo Man.

Guido

by IAN MC - 2013-01-16 12:01:50

If I lived in Oklahoma , or in the US for that matter I would be very interested in healthcare in other countries because , from what I understand , your system needs fixing bigtime !

Inga is so right .. I never fail to be amazed by people who ask for advice from PM club members and then we never get a thank you, worse still we never hear from them again .

Ian

You know you're wired when...

Your signature looks like an EKG.

Member Quotes

Do feel free to contact the manufacturer of your device. I have found them to be quite helpful when I have had questions and concerns.