Centralized Purchasing Paves the Way for Freedom of Dental Implants

According to Xinhua News Agency, Premier Li Keqiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council on January 10 and decided to carry out centralized and bulk procurement of drugs and high-value medical consumables on a regular and institutional basis to further reduce the medical burden on patients. Among them, orthopedic consumables that are of great concern to the public , drug balloons, dental implants, etc. will be carried out at the national and provincial levels respectively.

The meeting pointed out that in recent years, the reform of centralized and volume-based procurement of drugs and high-value medical consumables has been continuously promoted, and the market-oriented mechanism has effectively squeezed the artificially high medical prices. As of the end of last year, a total of 260 billion yuan in medical insurance and patient expenditures have been saved, and it has also promoted the Pharmaceutical companies invest more energy in product research and development and improving quality.

In the next step, we must promote the normalization, institutionalization and expansion of centralized volume-based procurement, continue to reduce pharmaceutical prices, and benefit patients.

First, focusing on chronic diseases and common diseases, we will continue to promote centralized drug procurement at the national level, and all localities will carry out provincial or inter-provincial alliance procurement of drugs outside the national centralized procurement. By the end of this year, the total number of national and provincial centralized drug purchases in each province will reach more than 350.

The second is to gradually expand the coverage of centralized procurement of high-value medical consumables, and carry out centralized procurement at the national and provincial levels for orthopedic consumables, medical balloons, dental implants, etc. that are of public concern.

The third is to ensure the long-term stable supply of the selected drugs and consumables, strengthen supervision, and ensure that the prices of the selected products are reduced without degrading quality. Medical institutions should give priority to the use of the selected products.

The fourth is to implement the policy of retaining the surplus of centralized medical insurance funds, promote the reform of the salary system, reasonably increase the income of medical personnel, and better mobilize enthusiasm.

This is the second time that the State Council has made major arrangements for volume-based procurement since the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Normalization and Institutionalization of Centralized and Volume-Based Procurement of Drugs" on January 28 last year. According to the decision-making and deployment of this State Council meeting, the national centralized procurement work will be upgraded again in 2022. Not only will the number of centralized procurement increase, but the categories of centralized procurement will also be expanded again.

Regarding the meeting’s decision to include dental implants, which are closely related to the common people, into centralized purchasing, Jin Chunlin, director of the Shanghai Hygiene and Health Development Research Center, said in an interview that on the one hand, the price of dental implants is high and the demand for patients is heavy. Centralized procurement of dental implants is of great significance in meeting patient needs. On the other hand, dental implant companies have higher profits. Incorporating them into centralized procurement will help further compress the middle water and promote the overall development of the industry in a benign direction.

The inclusion of high-value medical consumables in centralized procurement has become a trend

The cost of dental implants in my country remains high. With the national centralized procurement of heart stents, artificial joints and other consumables, the price reduction effect has been obvious, and the call for including dental implants in medical insurance is getting louder and louder.

The price differences of dental implants from different Korean imported brands in the same dental hospital. Picture/Meituan

Dental implants will be purchased in bulk after this national meeting.

On November 18 last year, Sichuan Province launched the collection of information on some high-value oral medical consumable products. The declared product range includes oral implants, restorative abutments, implant restorative accessories (including healing abutments, covering screws, transfer rods, scanning rods, substitutes, restorative bases, abutment screws, abutment protective caps, temporary abutments), etc. Medical consumables that make up the oral implant system.

Prior to this, on September 22, the National Medical Insurance Administration had also responded to the issue of "centralized procurement of dental implants" that was hotly discussed in public opinion.

Source: National Medical Insurance Administration official website

In response to National People's Congress representative Li Xiaoli's suggestion to "include the cost of dental implant materials in medical insurance," the National Medical Insurance Administration made it clear that it would promptly include qualified consumables and diagnostic and treatment items in medical insurance in accordance with the spirit of the "Reform Plan for the Management of High-Value Medical Consumables." Payment range.

In August last year, a document from Zhejiang Ningbo Medical Insurance Bureau titled "Proposal to Further Clarify the Medical Insurance Account Payment Dental Implant Project over the Years (Draft for Comment)" leaked. The "Plan" states that Ningbo will establish a medical insurance reimbursement directory for dental implant brands in the future. Among them, domestic brands cost 3,000 yuan each and imported brands cost 3,500 yuan each.

On August 22, Ningbo Medical Insurance Bureau interviewed five imported dental implant suppliers to directly address the pain point of "expensive dental implants". "Medical insurance funds must adhere to the principles of 'full coverage, basic protection, multi-level, and sustainable'. We must ensure that people can afford dental implants and improve their happiness." Gao Wenhui, director of the Medical Pricing and Bidding and Procurement Department of the Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau, said bluntly , we must use the leverage of medical insurance to bring dental implants back to a reasonable price range. Most of the suppliers present agreed with the price negotiation plan proposed by the Medical Insurance Bureau.

As soon as the news came out, the market speculated that this was a signal for the centralized purchasing of dental implants.

Industry insiders previously told reporters, "Although dental industry consumables are not included in medical insurance, after releasing a strong signal of intervention, if further measures are indeed taken, it will be a disruptive change for the industry. However, in addition to dental consumables, Some high-end private companies are able to gain a foothold because of the high fees charged for medical services. Putting aside the consumables and drugs themselves, returning to the essential price of services in the medical industry is also the ultimate goal of medical reform.”

"For dental implant consumables companies, if the product varieties are relatively low-end, they should actively participate in bulk purchasing. On the contrary, if the products are relatively high-end and the quality is much higher than that of competitors, they do not need to be too aggressive and choose only Meeting the needs of high-end consumer groups is also a major strategic direction,” Jin Chunlin pointed out.