August, 2014

1. Is the impact of the PPACA worth the cost?
2. Should federal or state governments control healthcare policy?
3. Are high-deductible plans and high out-of-pocket costs a necessary evil?
4. What policies are generally supported by both parties?
5. Who should be required, if anyone, to cover contraception?
6. Was the administration unable to predict that insurers would be forced to drop catastrophic-only health plans, leading to public outcry?
7. Should individuals using the federal exchange receive subsidies?
8. Is the explosive increase and expansion in the False Claims Act warranted or overreaching?
9. Has lack of antitrust enforcement led to too much hospital power?
10. Should hospitals get paid more than physicians and surgery centers for providing the same services?

Siemens is known for excellent engineering not necessarily customer messaging to the market that resonates powerfully. That seems to have changed with their new MAX messaging - Multiple Advances in X-ray. MedSalesReport certainly isn't plugging Siemens or their equipment. However their messaging is spot on. How does an OEM position big iron (or any iron for that matter) to the needs of value, clinical efficacy and economics in today's ACA world? Siemens has pulled that off masterfully here - something we would all do well to learn from.

The health system in 2013
• $53.1 billion: Operating revenue in 2013
• $1.8 billion: Operating income in 2013
• $2.7 billion: Net income in 2013
• 9.1 million members
• 174,415 employees
• 17,425 physicians
• 48,285 nurses
• 38 hospitals
• 608 medical offices, facilities

This dashboard of volumes and hospital metrics will help pinpoint the needs medical providers have that you can sell into.

Though developed countries such as the United States, Japan, and some nations in Europe still account for more than 60% of global medical device revenues, according to data from Decision Resources Group (DRG) and Millennium Research Group, these established medtech markets are providing diminishing returns for the industry thanks to factors including healthcare reform, cost containment measures, and regulatory pressures.

The U.S. remains the world's largest market for diagnostic x-ray systems, accounting for 29.4% of global revenues in 2013, according to the report. Despite the growth of the x-ray market in China, the U.S. will continue to hold the leading share, with 28% by 2020.