Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said that the ministry is working with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to ask local plastic material suppliers to prioritize healthcare-related manufacturers to avoid a shortage.
The minister was responding to reporters’ questions about concerns regarding the war in the Middle East having disrupted petrochemical supplies and driving up plastic packaging costs at the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee in Taipei yesterday.
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Hung Tzu-jen (洪子仁), who is also director of Taiwan College of Healthcare Executives, on Sunday said that he has heard that the prices of some medical devices have increased by 5 to 20 percent due to limited plastic raw material supplies impacted by the war in the Middle East.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
He said he has also heard that some major global medical device manufacturers have temporarily suspended offering new quotes or have delayed delivery by two weeks to one month, so he called on the government to prepare in advance.
Shih yesterday said that the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) had made an inventory of medical-related items that could potentially be affected by the war, and it had found two types of products most likely to be affected — pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices that contain plastic raw materials.
The MOHW also needs to check if there are raw material supply shortages, he said, adding that the Cabinet is to hold a meeting on maintaining price stability, so the ministry has been working closely with the MOEA’s Industrial Development Administration.
“We have asked key [local] suppliers of plastic raw materials and plastic microbeads to prioritize supplying them to medical device manufacturers and healthcare sectors to ensure continuity of supply,” Shih said.
Most of the medical devices can be made domestically, so as long as the supply of raw materials is stably maintained, people do not have to worry, he said.
Regarding potential drug or medical device price hikes, Shih said a special budget based on the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例) was passed last year, which includes NT$20 billion (US$625.9 million) for the National Health Insurance program.
The NT$20 billion was originally for addressing the possible negative impact caused by the US’ “reciprocal tariffs,” but it has not been used, he said, adding that if the war drives up the prices of drugs and medical devices, the ministry would use this money to respond.
The Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage reporting platform is also operating normally, so the ministry would continue to pay close attention to possible shortages of drugs and keep in contact with drugmakers, he said.
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