Tariffs are the talk of the town.
With tariffs placed on China and the threat of more being placed on pharmaceuticals, every corner of healthcare is already affected by the tariffs or likely to be impacted before long.
Healthcare Brew compiled what executives across various sectors of the industry have said about tariffs, how they’re influencing healthcare businesses, and how the execs are working to combat any negative consequences.
Hospitals
Despite the fact that US hospitals import a lot of supplies from overseas—including medical devices and supplies worth $75 billion in 2024, as Healthcare Brew previously reported—multiple large health systems have downplayed tariffs in recent earnings calls.
Sam Hazen, CEO of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, the largest health system in the US by number of hospitals (222 as of April, according to market intelligence company Definitive Healthcare), said during an April 25 earnings call that 75% of the company’s supply expenses come from the US, Canada, Mexico, or they come from products that are currently exempt from tariffs.
“I do believe that our tariff risk for 2025 is manageable,” Hazen said.
Steve Filton, EVP and CFO of Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services, the second largest health system in the US by number of hospitals (187 as of April, according to Definitive Healthcare) said about three-fourths of the system’s purchases are “insulated from tariffs,” during an April 29 earnings call.
Donna Drummond, SVP and chief expense and chief sustainability officer at Northwell Health—the largest health system in New York with 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 facilities—told Healthcare Brew in a statement that most of the health system’s supplies are contracted, so it doesn’t “expect to see the effects for quite some time,” though she added it’s “hard to judge the magnitude until we hear directly from our suppliers.”
Pharmaceuticals
While promising to “put America first,” President Donald Trump on May 5 said he plans to announce pharmaceutical tariffs within two weeks, CNBC reported.
Pharma execs have given mixed responses as to how they expect current tariffs to affect their companies.
Some say they expect a multimillion-dollar impact.
Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato said during an earnings call on April 15 the company expects $400 million in tariff-related costs this year, and Merck CEO Robert Davis said in an April 24 earnings call the company expects a $200 million hit.
Other pharma execs have downplayed concerns, though.
David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, said during the company’s May 1 earnings call tariffs “do not materially change Lilly's 2025 financial outlook,” and Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen (who was ousted on May 16, but is staying with the company while the board searches for a replacement) said the same during the company’s May 7 earnings call.
Health tech
Health tech execs have projected varying impacts from tariffs.
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Michael Mahoney, CEO of health tech giant Boston Scientific, which manufactures medical devices, said in an April 23 earnings call the company expects roughly $200 million in tariff costs for 2025.
On the other hand, execs at DocGo, a health tech that provides medical transport and mobile healthcare, don't seem to be worried. Lee Bienstock, the company's CEO, said during a May 10 earnings call the biggest effects will be related to the company’s vehicle fleet.
“Once the vehicle becomes more expensive to maintain, that’s when we procure a new one, so the tariffs may impact that calculation,” Bienstock said.
Meanwhile, Yemi Okupe, CFO of telehealth company Hims & Hers, said during the company’s May 5 earnings call the company believes it will be able to offset any headwinds from tariffs.
Payers
Insurers so far seem somewhat optimistic, while cautioning effects are hard to project until pharmaceutical tariffs are announced.
Andrew Witty, who was the CEO of UnitedHealth Group until stepping down on May 13, said during the company’s April 17 earnings call the execs “feel pretty good” about potential impacts from tariffs, but suggested that may change depending on what the impending pharmaceutical tariffs look like.
The company is “pretty well positioned” to handle current tariffs because it already has contract prices set and the Inflation Reduction Act prevents drugmakers from raising prices too quickly, according to Witty.
Cigna CEO David Cordani said during the insurer’s May 2 earnings call the company is raising 2025 earnings estimates to at least $29.60 per share, up from the $29.50 it predicted in Q4 2024, despite a “dynamic environment” that included “tariffs and trade” as well as “significant geopolitical and evolving social impacts.”
Retail pharmacy
Retail pharmacies are also in wait-and-see mode until pharmaceutical tariffs come to light.
CVS CFO Thomas Cowhey said during the company's May 1 earnings call they are “closely monitoring” potential tariff repercussions.
CVS doesn’t expect a big hit to its front-of-store items, as most of the inventory is sourced from US companies, David Joyner, president and CEO of CVS Health, said. But, he added, the company is also “looking at alternative sourcing and/or diversifying the suppliers.”
The recently announced deal with Novo Nordisk to include its GLP-1 Wegovy on Caremark’s (CVS’s pharmacy benefit manager) formulary will not be affected by tariffs either, as Novo manufactures Wegovy in the US, according to Joyner.
Walgreens declined to comment on how tariffs may affect the company when asked by Healthcare Brew.