NEW NATIONAL AGREEMENT ON HEARING AIDS

Price and technical minimum requirements have always been crucial in selecting the winners of our hearing aid tenders. This time it has been different. In addition to price, which we weighted at 50 percent, we weighted quality at 30 percent – and sustainability at 20 percent. 

We have always set requirements for the technical aspects of hearing aids. But by making quality a criterion, we have been able to evaluate the offers based on whether the supplier could provide informational videos for hearing aid users. The clinics have expressed a desire for citizens to have easy access to information about general daily maintenance and how to connect the hearing aid to smartphones.

- For citizens with hearing loss, it is very important for their well-being that they have access to high-quality hearing aids, regardless of where they live in the country. And that they have the opportunity to receive service for their device over the next four years. Our national tender and agreements help ensure this, says Flemming Sonne, CEO of Amgros. 

In previous tenders, Amgros has required suppliers to pack hearing aids and accessories in the smallest possible packaging. This time we have taken it a step further and evaluated the offers based on whether they could deliver one to two days a week – instead of delivering every day. Whether they use plastic, and whether the plastic they use is not harmful to the environment.

- At Amgros, we want to use our purchasing power to help reduce the negative impact of both medicines and hearing aids on the climate. And to promote a circular economy by increasing recycling. Therefore, in our latest hearing aid tender, we focused on setting criteria for transport and the use of plastic, says Flemming Sonne.

To ensure that hearing aids and accessories meet both the needs of users and clinics, the preceding tender also this time builds on the work of a specially appointed user group - consisting of doctors, audiology assistants, audiologists, and engineers. We have also had dialogue with the largest patient association in the field.

- This gives us a real picture of what characteristics are important for citizens and clinicians. We can easily sit at Amgros and look at data sheets and technical specifications. But it is users and practitioners who know the real needs and challenges. Therefore, user groups have become a permanent part of our tender process, says Flemming Sonne. 

Amgros has been conducting tenders for hearing aids for almost 25 years. We can see that the average price has steadily decreased, and we get many more hearing aids for the same money. Thus, the total cost of purchasing hearing aids and accessories was approximately 220 million DKK in 2007. And for that money, we could buy approximately 62,000 hearing aids. In 2024, for a total cost of approximately 150 million DKK, we could buy approximately 111,000 hearing aids and accessories.

- I think we can be satisfied with that. The numbers show that not only do we ensure high-quality hearing aids with new technology for citizens with hearing loss. Our hearing aid tenders also ensure much more health for the money, says Flemming Sonne. 

The new national tender covers 55 percent of all hearing aids distributed to citizens in Denmark. The tender thus includes 105,000 hearing aids annually - with associated accessories.

On behalf of the five regions, Amgros purchases and tenders hearing aids and supplementary equipment for public hearing clinics. 

The latest national hearing aid tender came into effect on March 1, 2025. A total of five suppliers won across 27 different treatment categories. With such a wide range, we can cover almost all types of hearing loss. 

Read more about Amgros' hearing aid tenders here

Read more about Amgros' supply of hearing aids here