Statement on Rep. Gottheimer’s Announcement of New Bipartisan Legislation to Modernize the Nation’s Healthcare Supply Chain Data Infrastructure

By Michael J. Alkire, President and CEO, Premier Inc

Premier thanks U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) for seizing this window of opportunity to address the vulnerabilities in our supply chain that the pandemic has laid bare. His bipartisan efforts alongside Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and others to modernize the nation’s data infrastructure by establishing a real-time tracking of supplies needed in emergencies—from manufacturing to stockpiles to the bedside—is exactly what is needed to prepare the nation for the next pandemic. The Medical and Health Stockpile Accountability Act would prevent the cycles of panic buying, shortages and inequitable distribution we’ve experienced nationwide during the pandemic. Holy Name Medical Center and other Premier members that have worked heroically 24/7 throughout the pandemic to save lives and keep their workers safe are counting on Congress to act.