AAHomecare Urges Tariff Exemption for Medical Equipment

WASHINGTON—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) has joined a group of organizations urging an exemption from tariffs for medical and dental supplies, equipment and devices, citing concerns about increased costs resulting in supply chain disruptions.

“Given the important role of our work in making America healthy, we are concerned that tariffs placed on medical and dental equipment threaten to disrupt the supply chain and raise costs for these critical items. This ultimately places further financial pressure on providers, hospitals and health systems, particularly those located in rural and medically underserved areas,” the groups wrote in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jameison Greer.

The organizations expressed concern over increased costs of supplies and their ability to improve patient outcomes, promote innovation and meet growing health care needs.

AAHomecare signed the letter along with AdvaMed—the world’s largest association representing medtech innovators—the American Dental Association, the American Association for Homecare, America’s Essential Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, Conquering CHD, the Preeclampsia Foundation, Prevent Cancer and the Sepsis Alliance.

In March, AAHomecare engaged with the administration over earlier suggested tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, saying that “these tariffs will particularly impact individuals who use HME because most of these products are covered and paid for by Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans, and private insurers who have fixed reimbursement amounts. As a result, tariff-driven product cost increases for HME cannot be passed along to consumers.”

New tariffs on HME and medical supplies would severely impact the health and well-being of seniors, chronically ill individuals and persons with disabilities throughout the United States.