She's an easy Danny Glover, she'll take your heart but you won't feel it

That wouldn't be the insurer, that would be the provider.

The “most complicated therapy ever”

I can already see my insurance company denying the treatment, even if it means I die.

It will be all well and good with these guys not paying until the ghost pimp shows up.

Beryllium spheres are still too difficult to work with.

There is no question that the robot provides better outcomes. The problem is that it costs $3k-$5k just to open one up to start a procedure. This has to be paid for by someone. Even though healing is easier, less loss of functionality, and chances of infection are lower, the insurers just won't pay for it.

I am not aware of M&A in the regional provider space. Hopefully someone can make the insurers cover this huge advance in medical treatment.

The person who opens a surgery center without consulting with the insurance companies who will not allow the more expensive procedure will find himself with a wasted investment.

These systems have been around for more than a decade. Their slow acceptance has everything to do with insurance companies refusing to pay for procedures using them. The surgery centers that did use them were almost all exclusively on the out of network model, which requires much more expensive PPO insurance to cover the procedures.

These robots have been around for quite a while. They provide much more precise incisions, meaning less trauma, faster healing, much lower chance of infection, and so on. Surgeons were excited to use them, and hospitals bought them.

Then the insurers said they wouldn't pay for the extra cost and would only cover old style operations using rusty spoons for scalpels.

And the machines sat there, under dust covers, not being used.