Hearing aid manufacturers are already pretty consolidated, with the big 5 making, under the different brand names, most of the stuff on the market. I believe it was already mentioned that the same chip used in the KS10 is the same as in other Phonak devices across different brands.
Costco is in a unique position because of their sheer size and ability to negotiate pricing. Costco also sells not only Kirkland, but as I’ve been informed here, other brands, all of which are made to Costco specs (I’m not sure if Costco creates the specs, or the manufacturers simply select what specs and features they’ll set a HA up for to sell at Costco locations). Those differences may be minor in actual use, but apparently not all fitting software will work with every HA sold under a brand, requiring you to return to Costco for adjustments. I don’t view that as a major drawback as few HA users have the skills or desires to dig in that far on their own, and retail audiologists aren’t forced to fit a HA under a given brand name they sell for a lot more money (not all Costco HAs have that issue but I’ve seen it on here before).
It’s one way manufacturers can play nice with their retail audiologists who also pay more for the retail version they’ll sell than the cost of the aids to Costco.
It reminds me of the mattress business model. All the retailers can say they’ll beat anyone’s price for a given mattress, but the mattress manufacturers will brand a specific model under one name for one seller and a different name for another. So tough to make a store match a price when they can claim it’s not the identical mattress so they can’t price match. This is despite the fact it may be exactly the same model, just with a cosmetic change to justify the action.
Obviously HAs are far more complex than a mattress. An audiologist is not a mattress salesperson. But the similarities are there to manipulate the market pricing on HAs (and mattresses).
One big push around that is the whole OTC hearing story. Unfortunately it still doesn’t exist under FDA specs and approvals, with it seemingly pressed farther back in implementation. I think they’re now saying maybe next year, 2022, but they been saying next year for years now. When that comes about prices will likely be driven down, and services will begin being marketed as the key to the higher price differential, not just features.
The number of people who qualify for HAs by insurance or the VA is pretty low and the current entry costs too high for many. A lot of hearing loss occurs in an older population, and they don’t have coverage from Medicare (Medicare Advantage programs may help but the extent of coverage is variable) and live on fixed incomes. I’m on disability in an assisted living facility. No, I didn’t expect at my age, 63, to be in this environment. I had to jump through hoops to get covered for one HA. I decided to pay for the second out of pocket. That was a hit to my wallet, especially given other electronic devices I had to buy since December. I’m fortunate I could at all, as I see other residents here who definitely would benefit but can’t afford it at all, and have no insurance coverage to help out. They might possibly benefit from the OTC offerings, but quality ones may still be several hundred to over a thousand dollars. They won’t be like $20 reading glasses you can now get at CVS or Walgreens.
Regardless, it will be increasingly difficult for a retail audiologist to maintain their business. There are already groups and networks forming for pooled marketing, and to service a larger number of customers. They will likely get bigger. As they do grow in store size, they’re going to bring pressure on the big manufacturers to start treating them like Costco, whether lowering prices in general for volume sales, or by offering specific models sold only through their large network. The latter might complicate things by tying in your ongoing care and service at only network members, rather than say changing an audiologist for someone you prefer who’s in a different group or network who finds your HA “locked”.
If any pressure can really affect current retail pricing, it will be the more affordable OTC aids, which will be, or should be, even easier to get and set up than Costco.