Exclusive: HHS launches PPE demand forecast
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The Department of Health and Human Services is releasing a forecast of its demand for personal protective equipment, giving American manufacturers predictability and strengthening supply chains, the department first told Axios.
Why it matters: The COVID pandemic exposed America's dependence on other countries for manufactured goods like PPE and prescription drugs, and there's sustained interest in changing that.
Details: The new policy requires each HHS division to maintain a forecast of its needs, and covers PPE purchases acquired through all methods.
- The forecasts will be updated quarterly. The policy carries out a pandemic-era law aimed at strengthening efforts to onshore PPE production.
What they're saying: "This forecast gives domestic PPE makers a clearer line of sight into future HHS demand so they can hire workers, invest in equipment, and keep production ready here at home," said Anthony Figliola, principal deputy assistant secretary and a member of the president's Made in America Council.
- "It is a practical step toward stronger supply chains, better emergency preparedness, and using federal purchasing power to support American manufacturers and American workers."
The big picture: The U.S. was hit with mask and other medical supply shortages during the height of the pandemic. But efforts to make sure that doesn't happen in a future emergency have largely fallen flat.
- Part of the problem is that manufacturers don't produce more than what's demanded, and demand for items like masks in nonpandemic times is much lower.
- "As an industry, we shifted back from that 'just in case' scenario planning and supply planning to 'just in time,' where now you have to be cost-conscious," Kyle MacKinnon, senior director of operational excellence at Premier's supply chain strategic operations, told Healthcare Brew.
