# What This Bill Does

This bill requires the federal government to take a close look at America's medical supply chains and report back to Congress every year about what they find. Think of it like a health checkup for the systems that get medicines, medical devices, and supplies to hospitals and patients. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has to write a detailed report starting one year after the bill passes, and then do it again every single year after that.

The report needs to examine how vulnerable our medical supplies are to major disruptions—things like natural disasters, bioterrorism attacks, or public health emergencies like pandemics. It also has to figure out how dependent we are on other countries for medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, and supplies. For example, if a hurricane or war disrupts shipping from another country, could we still get the medications and equipment Americans need? The report will look at what the government has already done to strengthen these supply chains and whether we're making enough of our own medical products domestically instead of relying on imports.

The bill also asks for recommendations on how to make things better—suggestions for federal agencies, state and local governments, and private companies on ways to build stronger, more reliable medical supply chains. Most of this report will be available to the public on the Department of Health and Human Services website, though some sensitive information about national security or trade secrets will be kept confidential. Essentially, this bill is about making sure that when the next crisis hits, America has the medical supplies it needs without being caught off guard like we were during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengthening our Health Security Through Resilient Medical Supply Chains Annual Review Act of 2021

Trone, David J.

Strengthening our Health Security Through Resilient Medical Supply Chains Annual Review Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report annually on the resiliency of U.S. medical supply chains. In particular, HHS must assess vulnerabilities related to global disruptions and dependence on supplies produced outside of the United States in these reports. HHS must also make unclassified portions of reports publicly available.