Analyzing Tariffs and Their Impact on the Medical Field
June 26, 2025 by Medigroup
In a healthcare environment defined by precision, any source of volatility—especially one beyond your control—can have ripple effects far beyond the supply chain.
Tariffs fall squarely into this category.
Unlike price changes driven by market competition or usage patterns, tariffs are policy-driven and often abrupt, with limited transparency or lead time. That unpredictability can quietly but significantly shift operational costs—affecting everything from disposable supplies and imaging equipment to office chairs, pest control contracts, and even bottled water services.
For supply chain professionals, procurement managers, and GPO leadership, the question isn’t whether tariffs will influence your organization—it’s whether your systems are agile enough to detect, absorb, and respond to those shifts without disruption.
This blog post explains how tariffs intersect with the medical field, what healthcare organizations can do to build resilience in the face of global trade fluctuations, and why a serious approach to expense analysis, well beyond medical spend, is not just wise but necessary.
Let’s discuss the practical implications of tariffs, and more importantly, what every medical office or healthcare practitioner should know to stay ahead of the competition.
Tariffs and the Medical Supply Chain: What’s at Stake?
Tariffs are taxes placed on imported goods, and while their intent is often to protect domestic industries or apply economic pressure abroad, they have a ripple effect—particularly in industries reliant on global manufacturing and sourcing. The medical field is one such industry.
From surgical gloves and syringes to diagnostic equipment and PPE, many critical healthcare products are sourced from countries that may become subject to fluctuating tariffs. These changes can suddenly inflate costs by 10%, 20%, or more, depending on geopolitical shifts, trade negotiations, or policy decisions.
But here’s the nuance: tariffs don’t always affect the product directly. Sometimes, it’s a component of the product or the raw material. In other cases, it’s packaging or even the shipping containers. That complexity makes it difficult to track where the cost spike originates—yet it still shows up in the invoice.
So how do healthcare organizations protect themselves?
Tariffs Are About More Than Medical Spending:
When we talk about preparing for tariff-related disruptions, the conversation tends to focus narrowly on the medical supplies themselves. But that’s only part of the picture.
Medical practices run on much more than gloves and gauze. Think about the everyday infrastructure:
- Office supplies and furniture
- Pest control and cleaning services
- Catering, bottled water, and vending
- IT equipment and security systems
Many of these operational essentials are also sourced from abroad—or from domestic suppliers who, in turn, rely on international inputs. Which means tariff-related price hikes can sneak in through the side door.
As a GPO working with hundreds of vendor contracts across categories, we urge our members to think holistically. Your bottom line is affected not just by what happens in the exam room, but also by the cost of the chair your front desk staff is sitting on or the bottled water your patients sip in the waiting room.
Diversification in procurement—and ensuring your contracts account for flexibility—isn’t just smart, it’s essential.
Conducting a Full-Scope Expense Analysis:
The most effective way to prepare for the unknown is to first understand exactly where your money is going.
A comprehensive expense analysis allows your team to:
- Identify hidden exposure to tariff-sensitive products
- Find redundancies or outdated vendor agreements
- Compare contract performance against market shifts
- Uncover opportunities for consolidation or renegotiation
This isn’t a one-and-done task. Tariffs can change with a new administration, a new policy, or even a new tweet. A best-in-class GPO encourages routine reviews of all expenses, from high-volume medical disposables to low-frequency office furniture purchases.
One of our partners, Vizient, recently shared a great post on their blog about the evolving nature of global trade and what organizations can expect from shifts in the global economy. Their idea is to explain that there are avoidable costs, and those can be minimized just by adjusting the timing and sourcing of their non-clinical purchases.
This kind of vendor insight is invaluable. A trusted partner with a pulse on global economics can alert you before the hit lands—giving you time to maneuver.
GPOs as Strategic Shields
Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) aren’t just buying clubs. At our best, we’re economic strategists, buffering practices against risk, volatility, and overexposure.
When tariffs come into play, GPOs can:
- Leverage collective buying power to negotiate tariff protections
- Work with vendors to secure longer-term pricing or multi-sourcing options
- Provide early alerts when certain products or categories may become high-risk
- Recommend alternatives—whether product substitutions or temporary reallocation of budget
For example, when tariffs spiked on certain categories of PPE during the pandemic, our GPO helped clients transition to vetted domestic alternatives without compromising quality or compliance. That proactive coordination saved members both time and stress.
Importance of Making Your Organization Flexible
Ultimately, the only way for organizations to survive and succeed in such a competitive and changing field as healthcare is to make sure your practice is agile and can adapt to changes quickly and efficiently.
This involves creating a culture in which procurement is viewed as a strategic pillar rather than an afterthought. It begins with providing teams with the knowledge and resources to identify risks early on and teaching them about the practical effects of tariffs. Additionally, it requires building relationships with vendors who are dedicated to transparency, adaptability, and long-term alignment rather than simply executing deals.
Although the impact of tariffs will always change, the mindset doesn’t have to be reactive. It can be forward-thinking, data-informed, and values-driven, which is better for you, your team, and your practice.
Final Thoughts
Tariffs are not just abstract political instruments. They’re real forces that impact real budgets, real supply chains, and ultimately, real patient care.
The key is preparation.
By thinking beyond the medical supply closet, performing routine expense audits, collaborating with proactive vendors, and leaning on the strategic strength of your GPO, you can build a system that bends with the winds of global change—but doesn’t break.
At the end of the day, our mission is your stability. And in an unstable world, that might be the most valuable service MediGroup provides.
With nearly 25 years of experience, MediGroup leads the industry in focused group purchasing, offering modern cost-saving solutions and expertise to physician practices, surgery centers, and non-acute care facilities. Our passion for contract negotiation provides competitive pricing and flexibility, saving time and money while improving operational efficiency. Join us to optimize your purchasing power and patient care process.
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Areas of expertise: Contract negotiation, cost-saving solutions for medical facilities, building connections between practices, supply chain management.
