Underfinancing of 90.3% for implant costs of prostheses and expanders in DRG revenues for uni- and bilateral mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction.

Background: From the clinic's point of view economic patient care requires comparison and adjustment of costs to revenues. To verify cost coverage for implants in mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction, a comprehensive cost-reimbursement analysis was performed.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of the German diagnosis-related group (G-DRG) revenues for implants from the DRG Browser 2007/2009HA and comparison with actual costs for implants in 2009 from the annual clinic report and the database of the controlling department. Calculation of the relative cost coverage for implants in unilateral (DRG J06Z) and bilateral mastectomy (DRG J16Z).

Results: In 2009, n = 98 J06Z and n = 18 J16Z were performed. DRG-calculated expenses for implants were € 69.65 for J06Z and € 123.07 for J16Z, i.e. a total of € 9,040.96. Actual costs for all implants were € 121,645.60, mean € 699.11 (€ 404.94-1,171.44). Attributable implant costs for 100% immediate breast reconstruction rate were € 93,679.28. Thus, implants are not cost covering by -90.3% (-82.8 to -94.7%). Subsidies for implants from the clinic's budget range from € 335.29 to € 2,219.81 per case.

Conclusions: Immediate breast reconstruction with implants after mastectomy is - even 6 years after introduction of the DRGs - not adequately calculated to be cost covering since the actual implant costs exceed the calculated revenues by far. At present, these implants are subsidized by the clinic at, on average, 90.3%. If economic patient care is mandatory, a maximum of only 1 in 10 patients with mastectomy can be offered immediate breast reconstruction with implants in Germany.