Tariffs and tough choices

Hospital purchasing still buffeted by trade winds

“Everyone in the supply chain, from hospitals to suppliers to manufacturers, is grappling with how to plan thoughtfully and proceed in a way that doesn’t either under- or over-correct for the potential impacts of these tariffs,” Akin Demehin, the American Hospital Association’s vice president of quality and patient safety policy, told Axios.

“Are there going to be instances where those low margin products are just not worth manufacturing anymore?,” Hendrickson said.

I’ve heard anecdotally from hospital executives that tariffs are a threat to already tight margins. Along with the changes to indirect payments and cuts to grants, inflation, and general uncertainty, academic medical centers are faced with tough financial decisions.