WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, Senator Rick Scott wrote an op-ed for Modern Healthcare on why the U.S. must stop relying on adversaries, like Communist China, for critical medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment, and work to build its own national stockpile of goods from American-based producers.

In the op-ed, Senator Rick Scott wrote, “The COVID-19 pandemic has presented our nation with new and unique challenges that require all levels of government, and all facets of the healthcare system, to work together. It has pushed our limits as to what is possible. And it exposed a number of flaws in our pandemic preparedness and response capabilities.

The alarming shortage of personal protective equipment our health system encountered represents a tremendous challenge that has been a decade in the making. For too long, the U.S. has relied on countries like China to produce PPE and critical pharmaceuticals.

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We can’t forget that relying on China for critical supplies means putting our health and security in the hands of a nation that wants to be the dominant world power. Their success depends on our failure. And since the Communist Party controls every company in China, every time we buy their supplies we are supporting a regime that is stealing our technology and intellectual property, building up their military to compete with us, abusing human rights, stripping Hong Kong residents of their freedoms and threatening Taiwan.

We have to stand up and say that we, as Americans and freedom-loving people, are better than this.

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We need to build up domestic manufacturing. As Florida’s governor, I focused on keeping taxes low for manufacturers and eliminated the sales tax on capital equipment. In the Senate, I’m working to pass a bill that will help build the national stockpile of goods from American-based producers and remove China from the U.S. supply chain.

All of us, whether in the healthcare industry or not, need to recognize the threat of China and start taking real steps to stop relying on our adversaries and focus on supplies and products ‘Made in America.’

The future of our nation and the health and safety of our people depend on our action.”

Read the full op-ed in Modern Healthcare HERE.

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