The tidal wave of lawsuits over pelvic mesh implants seems to have spurred a new business—one that some say profits by preying on patients who've sued over the devices, according to a Reuters investigation.
Here's how it works: Medical funders buy debt—for a fraction of its actual cost—from providers doing corrective surgery on patients with mesh implants. When those patients' lawsuits over the implants settle, the medical funder places a lien for the full amount of the surgical bill, claiming large amounts of the settlement money, according to Reuters.
Medical lenders have asked for as much as $62,000 for the surgeries and other services. That's compared with the standard insurance reimbursement rate for mesh removal surgery, about $2,000 to $7,000.
Medical funders say they're providing a valuable service, connecting patients with corrective surgeries they otherwise might not be able to afford or might have to wait years to undergo.
Some devicemakers, however, argue that such funders may encourage unnecessary surgery and take advantage of desperate, unsophisticated patients.
Pelvic mesh implants have been the subject of much criticism in recent years. The devices, used to treat urinary incontinence and other disorders, have caused severe pain and even death in some patients.
Boston Scientific agreed in April to pay $119 million to settle nearly 3,000 cases and claims over its transvaginal surgical mesh products though the company did not admit to wrongdoing. In May, a jury ordered Boston Scientific to pay $100 million to a woman who still had pieces of the mesh embedded inside her despite two surgeries. Last year, Endo International agreed to pay an $830 million settlement over the mesh but it also did not admit liability or fault, according to the Reuters.
Those aren't the only companies dealing with litigation over the devices. As of July 15, Ethicon faced more than 25,000 cases; Boston Scientific faced more than 15,000; American Medical Systems faced about 15,000; and C.R. Bard faced more than 10,000, among others, according to Reuters.
In May of last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed reclassifying surgical mesh used for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse as a high-risk device.
