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Phonak Audiologists

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In reply to @wtolkien

@wtolkien said:

how insurance reimbursements are structured

Not really, same model in the UK and they aren’t largely fulfilled by insurance.

Most healthcare policies in the UK don’t have coverage for hearing aids as they are nominally provided as required by the NHS.

In reply to @Um_bongo

There is no guarantee that if one paid more for bundled versus unbundled the result would be better.

Dentists do not bundle services so they are not comparable.

Are there doctors using a bundled model? I’ve seen subscriptions but those can be cancelled.

It sounds like you sell bundled services. That’s not required. Why do you not switch to unbundled and perhaps more patients would come consult and pay service by service?

@user490 said:

It sounds like you sell bundled services. That’s not required. Why do you not switch to unbundled and perhaps more patients would come consult and pay service by service?

Yeah it is: people are spectacularly incapable of calculating their service needs.

In reply to @Um_bongo

@Um_bongo said:

Hence my ‘End of the World is nigh!’ Thread. When there’s fully featured disrupting products landing at 10-20% of the full market pricing you have to consider how well the market is being served.

The vast majority of customers will still need local support for the Chinese brand aids you’re positing. End-user cost would go down, but not by 80-90%, and bundling would still be an issue.

I agree that there are problems with the anyone-goes-to-any-practitioner-of-that-brand-anytime model. How about this: Assuming a 3-year service commitment, have an open enrollment period around the 1-year and 2-year anniversaries, at which time the customer can change practitioners. Also, include a provision for service when you’re too far from home to visit your usual practitioner. The manufacturer seems like the obvious choice to administer this kind of plan.

People can switch doctors at any time. Why should audiology be different? Hybrid solutions might be small improvements, but unbundled may be the only way to slow to migration to Costco and now perhaps Sam’s.

In reply to @Um_bongo

@Um_bongo said:

Established market determinism.

Hence my ‘End of the World is nigh!’ Thread. When there’s fully featured disrupting products landing at 10-20% of the full market pricing you have to consider how well the market is being served.

Fair enough. This has been in my head for a while, and I’d love to know your thoughts. I’m making up the numbers, but I think the concept is correct.

Anybody can buy a new pair of top-of-the-line aids for $2000 on eBay. But an independent clinic might have to pay $3000 wholesale for the same devices. Then the clinic marks the devices up by $500 (totally reasonable margin), and also refuses to sell them without a service package that it values at $3500. Suppose the service package really is worth $3500, and customers would agree that it’s worth that amount. The problem is that the total price for devices + service is now $7,000 for aids that the customer can get elsewhere for $2,000. It doesn’t matter how you allocate it on the paperwork: In the customer’s head, the devices are worth $2,000 retail, which means they’re paying $5,000 for a service package that even the provider thinks is only worth $3500. And mathematically, they’re not wrong. If they could have gotten the devices for $2,000, but can’t get the devices + service for less than $7,000, the service is costing them $5,000.

They perceive it as being grossly overcharged for service, when that’s not quite what’s happening. In this example, the price of the service component is fine. The problem is that because of the huge disparity in what small clinics pay compared to Costco, a small clinic simply can’t win on device pricing. They have to charge a lot more for devices, and when that’s bundled with a service package, it’s perceived as charging a lot more for service. And that’s really unfortunate, because service is where small clinics can really shine compared to large chains. I don’t see a solution other than for small clinics to shift towards a primarily-service model that doesn’t rely on device sales.

Has anyone tried increasing volumes through buying groups like the appliance dealers? Appliances have less of a service aspect beyond delivery or takeaway.

In reply to @CombatWombat

Yup.

Or have an channel running in the background selling (a discounted White Label product line) nationally, in a totally ‘hands off’ fashion, while continuing to offer a 5* in-person service from a bricks and mortar location.

Pragmatism vs Cakeism…..

I went to a Hear Again America facility just yesterday (in Clive, IA) and it was fine. No high pressure sales; the guy checked my hearing and did a couple minor tweaks to my Resound Vivia aids. (They sell & support several brands.)

I suspect the level of customer satisfaction is a matter of who runs the place, and how skilled the audiologist is. And that can vary widely irrespective of the name on the door and the brands they sell…

I used my local hearing aid clinic for my first pair of aids. They are now HearingAmerica, but are run by the same people. While they were OK, I received better care from Costco for my second pair of aids. I’m sure that the franchisor can affect the standard of care, but I’d bet that it’s the people at the franchisee that really determine that.

In reply to @x475aws

I have Phonak hearing aids from Specsavers. No other company would look at them even if I wanted to pay. When I had a stroke and needed to get the adjusted, it took me 3 months to book an appoint. I had my ears tested and cleaned first by NHS but the next appoinment for Specsavers was 6 weeks. It took 30 seconds for them to say an ear was blocked with wax. Get it done and THEN book another appointment. I will NEVER use the premium services again .,

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