The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging Congress to shore up the country's medical supply chains, as the healthcare industry warns of higher costs because of tariffs on critical drugs and lifesaving equipment.

In a statement delivered to the U.S. Senate finance committee on May 14, the AHA detailed how U.S. medical providers rely heavily on foreign manufacturers for a range of pharmaceuticals, including cancer and cardiovascular medications, immuno-suppressives and antibiotics. And although pharma imports were exempted from the 10% blanket tariffs the White House rolled out on April 2, President Trump has made it clear that he still intends to impose "major" levies against imported drugs down the line.

"Despite ongoing efforts to bolster the domestic supply chain, international sources supply a significant proportion of essential medical goods," the AHA said. "For many patients, even a temporary disruption in their access to these needed medications could put them at significant risk of harm, including death."

The AHA also highlighted the risk posed by tariffs on imported medical devices and equipment, which are not exempt from the levies announced on April 2. Roughly 70% of medical devices marketed in the U.S. are manufactured exclusively overseas, from blood pressure cuffs and stethoscopes, to syringes and instruments used for anesthesia.

According to a March 2025 survey of 200 healthcare industry experts from Becker's Medical Review, 82% said that they expect tariff-related expenses to raise hospital costs by up to 15% over the next six months, while 94% of healthcare administrators said that they will have to delay equipment upgrades to manage the financial strain. If the array of higher tariff rates proposed by Trump go into effect, the AHA says that hospitals would be forced to seek out new vendors with few guarantees for reliability or quality.

To address these risks, the AHA is urging Congress to pass a pair of bills. The first — introduced in 2023 as the "Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Risk Assessment Act" — would require a comprehensive risk assessment of the U.S. drug supply chain. The second is 2023's "Mapping America's Pharmaceutical Supply Act," and would use data analytics to identify and predict supply chain vulnerabilities and address weaknesses, before disruptions occur. The AHA is also pushing to maintain existing tariff exemptions for pharmaceuticals, and to add exceptions for imported medical supplies.

"Proactively mapping and assessing the pharmaceutical supply chain, as well as supply chains for other medical devices and equipment, is an important step to improving resiliency in U.S. supply chains and protecting patients’ access to care," the AHA concluded.