The price of hip replacements, heart valves and pacemakers is set to tumble for private hospital patients as the Turnbull Government seeks election-year relief from steep rises in health insurance premiums for consumers.

Fairfax Media has learned that the medical devices industry has been given less than a fortnight to identify more than $500 million in savings or face a blanket price cut in what health insurers have to pay for prostheses like new hips and knees.

Health Minister Sussan Ley wants action within a fortnight on prostheses.

Prosthetics procedures in private hospitals cost almost $2 billion a year and it is understood that Health Minister Sussan Ley wants that bill cut by about $600 million, with some reports suggesting the target is up to $900 million.

The federal government controls the cost of 10,000 medical devices, including human tissue, screws and plates, through the Prostheses List - similar to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.