Why Costs are Rising

New Technology

Medical technology impacts all aspects of medicine. Laser surgery, MRI and CAT scans, organ transplants, miracle drugs...the list of medical advances in just the last generation have changed medicine.

The focus on medical technology has placed top-of-the-line diagnostic and treatment tools into the hands of health care professionals. The results are:

• Early diagnosis


• Less intrusive procedures


• Better medical outcomes

New technology also means higher costs. For example:

• MRI = $1,240 per procedure
• PET scans = $3,000 per procedure

The price tag for diagnostic products and medical devices in 2001 alone was nearly $78 billion*.

*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics