More people having stents implanted now they are cheaper

China's centralized procurement drive, which has slashed the price of heart stents by more than 90 percent, has also accelerated the adoption of state-of-the-art products and helped expand access to stent implantation surgeries, the National Healthcare Security Administration said this week.

Coronary stents, tiny tubes used to open blocked arteries in people suffering from heart disease or who have been hit by an acute heart attack, used to cost around 13,000 yuan ($1,800) each, with imported ones costing nearly 20,000 yuan. The high price — largely due to marketing and distribution expenses — strained the pockets of many patients, especially those who required two or more stents.

To address public concerns, the administration's first bulk buy program targeting high-value medical consumables focused on coronary stents. The program, launched in November 2020, aimed to squeeze out intermediate costs and entice manufacturers to cut prices to win bids for volume contracts.