AHA calls for Senate committee to strengthen supply chain for pharmaceuticals, medical devices

The AHA provided a statement of record to the Senate Special Committee on Aging for a hearing Oct. 8 on the pharmaceutical and medical device supply chains. The AHA highlighted how many pharmaceutical products are imported and that many medical devices are manufactured overseas. "The low-margin nature of these products makes them difficult to produce within the U.S.," the AHA wrote. "At the same time, disruption in the availability of these devices would curtail hospitals' ability to perform life-saving surgeries and keep patients safe from contagion, as well as hinder providers' ability to effectively diagnose, monitor and treat patients."

The AHA encouraged the committee to pass legislation to help strengthen medical supply chains. The AHA earlier this year expressed support for the reintroduction of the Mapping America's Pharmaceutical Supply Act (S. 1784), legislation that would create a plan for the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Defense to map the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. Another AHA-supported bill, the Rolling Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient and Drug Reserve Act (S. 2062), would award contracts to eligible generic-drug makers that would require them to maintain a six-month reserve of critical generic drugs and their active ingredients in case of shortages.