Each time a new patient receives a spinal cord stimulator, the total cost for actively managed patients is increased. The cost of uncomplicated annual care to maintain the system starts at $3500 in Canada, goes to $5000 under Medicare, and tops at $7277 for Blue Cross/Blue Shield patients. But what this study shows for the first time are the added costs of maintenance, upkeep, and complications. That figure does include the preoperative evaluation and the trial before permanent implantation. That’s a reasonable request considering the basic cost of the unit and implantation ranges from $21,595 to $57,800 (depending on who is paying for it). Third party payers such as private insurance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield (health maintenance plan), and Medicare have asked physicians to show that the benefit of this treatment is worth the cost. But before we go too far with this treatment tool, it’s important to look at the total cost (not just the initial implantation cost). The success of this treatment has increased its use for chronic pain patients in the United States and Canada. It must be done on a trial basis first before the stimulator is permanently implanted. SCS is generally only used if nothing else in treatment seems to be working. In essence, the stimulator masks the pain. The electrical impulses from the stimulator override the pain messages so the person doesn’t feel the pain so acutely or so intensely. A stimulator is implanted into the patient’s body, which then sends out impulses to interrupt the pain signals and prevent them from reaching the brain. For over 30 years now, doctors have used spinal cord stimulation (SCS), also called neurostimulation, to help relieve chronic neuropathic (nerve) pain.
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