At the beginning of July, 69 new medical devices funded by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund were added to the list of medical devices. The expanded list improves the quality of life for people with various illnesses and broadens their range of options.
“The new medical devices are intended, for example, for patients with tracheostomies and people with diabetes, lymphatic edema, and who need orthoses, insoles, wound dressings, or, for example, an automatic continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device and its maintenance supplies to manage their daily lives,” explained Hanna Veisman, Service Manager for Medical Devices at the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF).
Updating the list of medical devices ensures that new products are added and that existing medical devices remain available to the public.
A total of 96 devices were removed from the list of medical devices because their production or distribution has now ceased or because no new price agreement was reached for them. Alternative devices are guaranteed for patients to replace these.
“In addition, we reorganized the knee orthosis category and created five new price groups. This helps provide greater clarity regarding the selection and pricing of devices funded by the EHIF. It also promotes fairer price competition among comparable products,” added Veisman.
An overview of all medical devices funded by the EHIF and the conditions for reimbursement can be found in the list of medical devices(Opens in new tab). The estimated impact of the changes is approximately 37,000 euros per year.