On the whole, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to
benefit the IVD and clinical lab test industry slightly, according to
Kalorama Information. Sales are expected to rise an extra 1.3% more
per year, in the next five years, than would have otherwise been seen
without the law, according to a recent report from the firm. This
finding was made in a recently published Kalorama Information report, The Impact of Healthcare Reform (PPACA) On the U.S. IVD Market.
The healthcare market research says the most significant IVD and
clinical lab sales drivers resulting from the PPACA will be an expansion
in the number of insured U.S. persons, increased utilization of tests
related to nosocomial infections, and new coverage of wellness and
prevention programs. Kalorama also notes the bill contains market
restraints as well, and warns many questions about implementation and
future effects remain.
"The reform taketh away from IVD but you could say it 'giveth' a little
more," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "Several
key provisions of the PPACA, in combination with favorable population
demographics, will stimulate IVD product sales. It's an industry that
lives or dies based on test procedure numbers and thus the growth in the
number of persons with health care coverage is good news for IVD."
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), passed in
2010 is complex legislation that affects virtually every aspect of
healthcare, and many of its provisions are beginning to take effect now.
The overall objective of the PPACA is to expand access to health care
coverage for most U.S. citizens and legal residents by requiring
individuals to have coverage and employers to either provide coverage or
pay a penalty that would support coverage from a pool of public funds.
The report examines the proposed positive developments for the IVD
industry resulting from PPACA such as an expansion in the number of
insured U.S. persons, increased utilization of tests related to
nosocomial infections, product innovation resulting from value-based
pricing, and new coverage of wellness and prevention programs. The
report also examines legislation components that might present
challenges, such as the medical device excise tax and changes to
Medicare reimbursement. Despite the known provisions, there are some
unknown factors with healthcare reform implementation, also detailed in
the report.
"Many issues have not yet been fully addressed," said Carlson. "These
include the future of the medical device tax, Medicare payment rates
reform, state expansion of Medicaid, and public confusion about the
PPACA."
The report, The Impact of Healthcare Reform (PPACA) On the U.S. IVD Market,
details the specific provisions of healthcare reform legislation and
describes the current status. The report contains sales estimates for
the historic 2012 period of the IVD market and forecasts are provided
through 2022. The report also presents overall procedure volumes for IVD
and laboratory tests. The report than analyzes the impact of various
PPACA provisions on the IVD market. The report can be found at: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Impact-Healthcare-Reform-7728373/
