3 weeks Ago
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down to write something like this. In college, I majored in finance and economics and worked as a writing tutor, blending my love for language with a fascination for how systems — especially economic ones — shape the world around us. Years later, I found myself on a very different path: nursing.
I’ve now spent over a decade at the bedside, seeing firsthand how those systems affect people in the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how something as seemingly distant as a tariff can quietly — but powerfully — affect the way health care functions in this country. Not just in theory, but in real, tangible ways: through rising costs, hospital cutbacks and reduced access to care.
Lindsey Clark lives in Whitefield. When most people hear the word tariff, they probably think of global trade disputes, government policies or economic strategies to “bring jobs home.” But what’s often missing from the conversation is how tariffs ripple into places we don’t expect — like our hospitals, our health insurance, and even our access to care.
But maybe that should be part of the discussion. The U.S.
imports a surprising amount of its medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. Everything from surgical tools to hospital beds, CT scan parts to insulin, and even everyday essentials like gloves and syringes — many of these come from countries like China, Germany, Ireland and India. We also rely heavily on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients to produce the medications that fill our pharmacies and treat millions of patients.
When tariffs are added to these imported items, it drives up the cost for hospitals and health care providers that are already operating on tight margins. And guess what? Those added costs don’t just vanish. They show up in the form of: • Higher insurance premiums.
• Increased out-of-pocket costs for patients. • More strain on hospitals, especially smaller ones. • Reductions in services, staff, and even facility closures.
In fact, we’re already seeing a troubling trend: hospital downsizing and closures, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Many of these hospitals cite unsustainable operating costs and lack of resources. When tariffs raise the price of essential medical supplies, the pressure only intensifies.
It’s a domino effect. Health care is already one of the most expensive necessities in American life. Tariffs that affect the tools and medications we need to survive only deepen the problem — and they hit hardest in places that are already vulnerable.
This isn’t to say all trade policies are bad. But we need to be smart about where and how we apply tariffs, because when the price of an imported syringe doubles, it doesn’t just affect a supply closet. It affects surgeries.
ER visits. Infant care. Cancer treatment.
Lives. I believe in smart policy. But I also believe in asking hard questions and looking at the full picture.
And the truth is, if we want a health care system that’s accessible and sustainable, we can’t ignore how global trade policies are reshaping the foundation it rests on. So the next time you hear about tariffs in the news, remember: what seems like a faraway economic move might be the reason your local hospital is struggling — or why your insurance premium just went up. And in a system where access to care already feels out of reach for so many, that’s something we can’t afford to overlook.
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