ICYMI: AdvaMed Calls for Greater Federal Prioritization of Medtech

In a new op-ed in RealClear Health, AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker called on the Biden Administration to ensure the medtech industry is considered as it implements policies to strengthen domestic supply chains.

Whitaker wrote, “U.S. manufacturing has shifted overseas for decades with at least one notable bright spot: The majority of all medical technology used in the United States is made here. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called medtech ‘the last bastion of advanced manufacturing’ in the United States. The medtech industry is proud of our domestic staying power, but it isn’t easy, and we can’t do it alone. Patients and providers, perhaps often without even realizing it, depend on smart federal policy to promote U.S. manufacturing and the stable supplies of the components and materials our industry needs to serve patients in the United States and worldwide.

“We welcome the latest White House announcement of actions to strengthen U.S. supply chains, including medical products. Critical medical technology on back order, at best, delays care and, at worst, risks lives. As medtech becomes more complex, products require more inputs sourced from all over the world. Supply chain management is more important than ever.”

Whitaker went on to make the following recommendations to the Administration:

• The immediate and long-term prioritization of medtech needs in programs such as the CHIPS Incentives Program for sufficient quantities of critical components – in addition to semiconductor chips, circuit boards, monitors, resins, polymers, medical grade packaging, the helium in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, and the materials needed for sterilization — among industries competing for supplies. 
• Supporting greater diversification of supply chains to reduce barriers to the flow of goods, with public-private partnerships to enhance resiliency and agility and reduce over-reliance for any aspect of manufacturing or supply. The new U.S. Department of Commerce Supply Chain Center and theIndo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, includingthe United States and 13 regional partner nations, are among key initiatives for this work. 

Read the full op-ed here.

AdvaMed, the leading trade association representing the medtech industry around the world, added to its ranks the Digital Health Tech and Medical Imaging Divisions in 2023. These additions further cemented AdvaMed as the largest medtech association in the world, representing nearly 500 companies ranging from small start-ups to the largest health care companies.