§ Lord Ashley of Stokeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which factors influenced the change in cost of digital hearing aids from a selling price of £2,500 to £70 for the National Health Service[HL545]
§ Lord WarnerThe price of £2,500 for a digital hearing aid was the price charged by private sector50WA dispensers, and includes service costs for assessment, fitting and follow up appointments, general business overheads, marketing and profit margin.
The factors that influenced the reduction in cost of digital hearing aids to the National Health Service were: the development of a single procurement system that takes advantage of economies of scale of purchasing; the ability to give commitment for specific volumes of product to suppliers; the ability to forecast demand to suppliers; and the shifting of demand for high volume products to fewer suppliers. This was made possible through the partnership between the Department of Health and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, who worked with the private sector as part of the Modernising Hearing Aid Services programme.