It's bad enough the FDA slows development of medical devices with costly and schedule-stretching MDUFMA rules. Now the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) wants to get into the game. It's propagating the flawed idea that medical devices drive up healthcare costs. Stephen Ubl, president of AdvaMed, a trade association that represents medical device makers, says the organization's biggest challenge is to counter this rising misperception held by some members of Congress, health insurers, employers, and the influential CBO.

In fact, a recent CBO report on the growth of healthcare spending was based on several misperceptions. Ubl says the report draws conclusions after only looking at costs. It does not consider the root causes of health spending or the benefits of medical technology, nor its power to reduce costs.

For instance, Ubl says it's unfortunate the CBO missed a 2005 study that found a potential $8.3 billion savings from devices that spot drug-resistant infections in hospitalized patients. Another ignored benefit: Compared to open surgery, image-guided coils for brain aneurysms reduce costs 25% and death and disability by 23%. And patients recover in a month instead of a year. Another missed stat: Total knee replacements save an average $77,000 per patient in lifetime healthcare costs. It sounds like a homerun when you combine the gift of mobility, staying in one's own home instead of a nursing home ($72,000/year for some), and cutting costs.

A second report flaw: the CBO ignores productivity gains and benefits from medical technology. Ubl cites a study by the U. of Chicago that found longer life expectancies from advances in cardiovascular care added about $2.6 trillion/yr to national wealth between 1970 and 1998. A third flaw: CBO's analyses ignore improvements to quality of life that are difficult to measure. How much is it worth to improve someone's sight or hearing?

And in a final slap, the report lacks focus on real reasons why healthcare costs soar. Ubl cites the existing fee-for-service system that pays providers for delivering more care, not better care. And expensive paper-based healthcare transactions add cost. He could have added liability costs and bad patient behavior, as from those who use the ER as a primary care center and then stiff hospitals with their bills.

The good news is that a simple two-step method can bring the CBO and similar “thought leaders” into the 21^st century. Step one: Have them open their own mail and read the medical ads. A brochure from a Lasik (eye surgery) clinic looking for customers offers a special 0% interest or $30/eye/month financing rate. Then ask: How is this development possible? That is, how is it possible that surgery on the soft and delicate human eye can be done frequently, safely, successfully, and on an out-patient basis? The answer: Because talented doctors and laser manufacturers worked together to produce the laser equipment tuned for just this operation.

A second task for our leaders is to watch evening TV and note the dental ads. One ad for a chain of dental offices says it will clean your teeth for $60, fill a simple cavity for $100, and dentures start at $199. The price list goes on. Now ask: How is it possible to make out-patient surgery so readily available? Because there are enough dentists, and the necessary equipment and drugs are readily available. This thanks to good R&D and modern manufacturing methods.

A final task for our lawmakers is to stroll through their local malls and notice the ads in the eyewear stores. They'll see that one company is willing to sell two pairs of glasses for the price of one. Another says it will have your glasses ready in about an hour. How is this possible? You get the drift.

All in all, an active medical-device community, competition, and advertising are great ways to drive down healthcare costs. The challenge today is to apply lessons from these observations to the wider variety of healthcare problems. There is no benefit to shackling the device community.