Healthcare Associations Speak Out Against Trump Tariffs
National healthcare associations have begun to speak out against the program of tariffs announced on April 2 by President Trump in an event in the Rose Garden at the White House.
On Wednesday, the Charlotte-based Premier Inc. released a statement attributed to Soumi Saha, senior vice president of government affairs. Saha stated that “Targeted and thoughtful tariffs on healthcare products could offer a chance to bolster supply resilience and ensure access to critical medical supplies. But they cannot live in a vacuum, lest they become just another cost without real impact. Premier believes that tariffs need to be put to work, funding innovation that ensures long-term stability and a stronger, more resilient U.S. supply chain. Premier champions a comprehensive strategy, including leveraging tariff funds to expand domestic and nearshore manufacturing of essential medical products, incentivizing healthcare providers and the U.S. government to buy American, and prioritizing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for domestically produced medical goods, Saha said.
And she added that “A strong, sustainable supply chain isn’t just good policy—it’s the foundation of high-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare for all Americans. Premier stands ready to partner with policymakers to build lasting solutions that make a difference and ensure American patients have access to the medical products they need.”
Meanwhile, Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs at the Englewood, Colo.-based Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) stated on Thursday that, "For medical group practices, the implications of tariffs are simple dollars and cents. From basic supplies to life-saving medical devices, physician practices rely on a global supply chain, yet their ability to pass on increased costs is almost non-existent. Practice expense calculations in fee schedules within commercial contracts and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are already fixed and won't account for any cost increases resulting from new tariffs or taxes. Already reeling from recent Medicare reimbursement cuts and multiple years of post-COVID inflation, medical groups will be forced to absorb any increased costs to the detriment of their businesses and, ultimately, patients. While there may be longer-term goals in the Administration's trade strategy, if implemented as proposed, the potential consequences of tariff-induced cost increases may be severe, especially for medical practices struggling to keep their doors open in an already challenging healthcare environment.”
Meanwhile, AvMed, the Washington, D.C.-based medical device industry association, released a statement on Wednesday that begun thus: “Our country is the birthplace of the medical device and technology industry and leads the world in innovation and production because U.S. policies promote innovation. We support any and every policy that allows us to maintain our position of global primacy in every aspect of medical innovation imaginable. We also fully support the President’s goal of moving as much manufacturing into the United States as possible.”
Whitaker continued, “However, we are disappointed in the news of the Administration’s intent to levy broad tariffs that will negatively impact American medical technology and innovation. The medtech industry is an American success story made up of remarkable American companies that are saving, improving, and extending lives. If implemented as proposed, broad-based tariffs of this nature would act much as an excise tax. It will have a negative impact on innovation, cost jobs, and increase overall costs to the health care system. Historically, industries with a meaningful humanitarian mission have been exempted from broad tariffs, and as a result we have seen no to low tariffs on medtech from all key trading partners.”
