Every industry and consumer group in the world right now is asking some version of this question: How are the White House’s new tariffs gonna affect me? If we had a solid answer for the limb-loss community, we wouldn’t be publishing it for free on our website, because it would be worth lotsa dollars. All we can do listen to the experts and check with our sources in healthcare and O&P. Like us, they’re all just taking their best guess about how this will all shake out. But their guesses are better informed than ours.
The question seems pertinent for amputees, given the prominence of European prosthetic manufacturers in the US market (and around the globe). So let’s lead with the good news: So far, we haven’t heard a peep of alarm from the O&P sector. We’ve checked in with knowledgeable folks in manufacturing, distribution, care delivery, patient advocacy, and education. Nobody anticipates the new tariffs will significantly alter business as usual, at least in the short term. One longtime O&P veteran surmises that the industry just doesn’t generate enough trade to merit direct attention, and it has been fortunate so far to dodge any indirect effects caused by tariffs on raw materials, hardware, etc. The bottom line: If you’re reasonably fit, don’t spend much on prescription meds, and aren’t managing any major health issues aside from limb care, you’re probably off the hook. Tariffpalooza likely won’t affect you, one way or another.
Now for the not-as-good news: You probably will see some price increases if you depend on non-prosthetic mobility aids, and/or if you’re managing concurrent health challenges such as diabetes, cancer, PAD, obesity, depression, or other conditions that often accompany limb loss—especially if you depend on insulin or prescription drugs.
Tariffs may bloat the cost of meds for amputees
ING, a global financial analysis firm, predicts that US consumers will be hit hardest by pharmaceutical tariffs. “Tariffs will increase prices for medication substantially at the expense of American consumers, and they will hit the most vulnerable US citizens the hardest,” they wrote yesterday. That forecast rests heavily on the anticipated tariffs on India, which is a major supplier of generic pharmaceuticals. ING’s analysts write: “Indian generic pharmaceutical producers or their importers will either incur the tariff and raise prices, which would cause higher prices for US consumers, or avoid the American market altogether, which would [reduce] the availability of generic pharmaceuticals in the US.”
That opinion was echoed by Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk (the Danish manufacturer of Ozempic). “By far the largest drug category is generic medicines,” he told Fortune. “If you put tariffs on those, I have a hard time seeing that that is not going to lead to other shortages of medicine or increased pricing in general.” And 69 percent of US healthcare executives predict the tariffs will drive up drugs costs, according to a survey published last month by Black Book Research.
ING thinks branded pharmaceuticals from European manufacturers will also be affected, especially those imported from Ireland and Germany. The tariffs could even bloat the price of US-produced drugs, as domestic manufacturers import a lot of pharmaceutical ingredients from overseas.
APRIL 3 UPDATE: Pharmaceuticals got a temporary reprieve: The “reciprocal tariffs” announced on April 2 specifically exempted pharmaceuticals. However, CNBC reports that separate tariffs for pharma products are already in the works: “The pharma industry’s hopes of a sector-wide tariff carve-out faded after Trump confirmed that an announcement [regarding drug tariffs] would come soon.”
Tariffs could disrupt healthcare supply chains, insurance costs
In an analysis published two weeks ago, PwC estimated that overall tariffs in the pharmaceutical, life science, and medical device sector could increase from their current level—a negligible $0.5 billion a year—to a whopping $63 billion annually. Global healthcare conglomerates “have structured their supply chains based on longstanding near-zero tariffs on active pharmaceutical ingredients, medical components, and raw materials,” the report explains. “The imposition of tariffs on previously ‘Non-dutiable’ goods, such as drug ingredients, surgical instruments, and medical device components, could significantly disrupt sourcing strategies, increasing manufacturing costs and potentially leading to higher prices for essential medicines and healthcare products.”
According to a survey conducted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (a healthcare trade organization), roughly 90 percent of US biotech companies rely on imported components for their products—and 94 percent predict the new tariffs will drive up manufacturing costs for US biotech manufacturers. “This survey demonstrates the far-reaching and potentially damaging impacts of the proposed tariffs on our biotechnology industry, on biomedical research, and on patients,” wrote the organization’s CEO, John Crowley. In a similar vein, Dave Evans, chief executive of the healthcare manufacturing consultancy Fictiv, told Investor’s Business Daily: “If the tariffs that are being proposed today go fully into effect, I don’t see a world where consumer prices do not increase.”
The Black Book survey cited above found that 90 percent of healthcare supply-chain managers anticipate disruptions because of cost increases and price volatility. The same survey found that 90 percent of healthcare finance executives expect that tariffs will elevate their expenses to the point that they’ll have to shift costs onto insurers and patients. Accordingly, nearly half of insurance executives in the survey believe they’ll need to raise premiums within the next calendar year to cover their rising costs.
Black Rock’s report ominously concludes: “As medical supply costs escalate, hospitals and insurers will be forced to make difficult financial decisions, inevitably passing increased expenses down to patients through higher out-of-pocket costs.”
If you’re directly affected by cost increases, supply-chain disruptions, or other impacts of the new tariffs, Amplitude wants to hear from you. Write us at editor@livingwithamplitude.com.
