Senator Baldwin Applauds Biden Administration Rule to Support Made in USA Masks and Prevent Future Shortages

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin applauded a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) rule that encourages hospitals to buy American products and bolsters Made in America mask manufacturers. This announcement comes after Senator Baldwin led a group of colleagues in a letter encouraging CMS to take this action in June to support Made in America manufacturing and help prevent future shortages of lifesaving personal protective equipment.

“It is not ‘if,’ but rather ‘when’ our country will face another health emergency, and to be better prepared to respond, we need to have a ready-supply of high quality, Made in America-manufactured masks,” said Senator Baldwin. “American companies and workers make second-to-none products and stand ready to support this effort to help prevent any future mask shortages and keep our communities safe.”

“We appreciate Senator Baldwin’s leadership as a champion for the domestic manufacturing of critical surgical products and PPE,” said Edward A. Pesicka, President and CEO of Owens & Minor. “We join the senator in applauding the administration’s policy goal of ensuring that quality PPE is available to healthcare personnel when it’s needed and incentivizing hospitals to use domestically produced products, helping to ensure a stronger and more resilient domestic supply chain.”

CMS made the announcement to boost domestic mask supply through their annual inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rules, which they update annually to establish payment rates in Medicare.

Senator Baldwin also led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Commerce to advocate for American mask and medical equipment manufacturers, calling for an investigation into the alleged dumping of Chinese-made products into the U.S. marketplace at low prices that create an unfair market for American manufacturers.