Are you getting the best catheters for your insurance dollars?

Do you know if you are getting the best catheters for your insurance dollar?  

Are you getting the best catheters for your insurance dollars?  Higher quality catheters reduce risk of urinary tract infections, strictures, and episodes of hematuria.  There are a number of published clinical studies that prove the clinical efficacy of hydrophilic catheters over the old catheter and gel technology.  (Click on previous sentence for link to published study). Given the fact that hydrophilic catheters have been proven to be 95% less friction then standard catheters lubricated with gel, one would wonder why suppliers are filling orders with substandard technology.

The answer is simple.  All brands of intermittent catheters are reimbursed  under the same billing codes.  This means that the patient’s insurance company will reimburse the exact same amount for the premium top of the line high quality intermittent catheter as they would for the lowest quality catheter.

In simple terms, let’s use a food analogy of quality of meat.  In this case, your insurance company will pay the same amount of reimbursement to your supplier regardless of the quality of meat, the insurance simply pays when the meat is confirmed as delivered.  Your insurance company pays the same amount for you to receive a luxury T-bone steak (the hydrophilic catheter) or a basic package of ground hamburger meat (catheter and gel and other lower quality solutions).

Just like the meat analogy of T-bone steak versus ground beef of lower quality, not all brands of catheters have the same cost or quality.  The price of a straight intermittent catheter costs can range from .30 cents to $1.30 and the cost of a  closed system intermittent catheter with insertion supplies can range from $1.50 to $4.00. So, it may be an issue of a supplier increasing their profit  margins at the expense of patient outcomes.

Fortunately, there is a choice of suppliers. PCG believes in best possible patient outcomes and is adept at insurance reimbursement, thus PCG recommends and supplies high quality hydrophilic catheters for patient needs. In fact, the sales manager at PCG has attended the urology academy in Sweden and is a licensed health care provider (licensed Physical Therapist, Louisiana) who has deep knowledge regarding healthcare issues and patient needs.

If you would like to know if you are receiving the highest quality intermittent catheter for your insurance dollar please contact PCG Medical  at 504.836.3899 or send us comments via the CONTACT US Page on this web site.