As the current administration rolls out a new wave of tariff proposals, the healthcare industry is bracing for yet another disruption—this time, in the form of higher costs for implants and medical devices. While much of the national conversation has focused on the implications for manufacturing and consumer goods, hospitals—especially those relying heavily on imported surgical implants and devices—face significant and immediate challenges.
Tariffs and Medical Devices: A Perfect Storm for Hospitals
Many of the proposed tariffs target countries that supply critical components and finished medical devices used in surgical procedures. Items such as orthopedic implants, cardiac devices, and surgical instruments are often manufactured overseas or rely on imported materials. With tariffs potentially driving up the cost of these goods by 10% or more, hospitals could be looking at a sudden and substantial spike in procedure costs.
Hospitals operate on tight margins, and these increased device costs won’t always be passed on to payers or patients. That leaves healthcare providers in a bind—scrambling to identify the source of the cost increases, determine their scale, and develop strategies to absorb or offset the financial impact.
The Visibility Problem: Why Hospitals Struggle to React
One of the major challenges hospitals face is a lack of real-time visibility into their surgical implant spend. Many hospitals still rely on outdated procurement or materials management systems that aren’t equipped to track the actual costs incurred during surgical procedures, particularly when it comes to implants billed separately from the rest of the surgical supplies.
These implants often appear on vendor bills without standardized item descriptions or direct purchase orders, creating a black box of spend data that’s difficult to analyze and manage. This is where the true impact of the tariffs could go unnoticed—until it’s too late.
Enter Kermit: A Bill-Only Solution for a Modern Healthcare Challenge
Kermit offers a purpose-built solution designed to tackle exactly this kind of scenario. As a bill-only surgical implant spend management platform, Kermit captures detailed, line-item data directly from vendor invoices and maps it to your hospital’s contracts, pricing, and usage patterns.
When external market forces—like tariffs—cause pricing shifts, Kermit makes those changes immediately visible. Hospitals can:
By centralizing and standardizing bill-only implant data, Kermit empowers hospital finance teams, supply chain managers, and clinical leaders to take proactive steps: renegotiate contracts, adjust purchasing strategies, or collaborate with surgeons on cost-effective alternatives.
From Uncertainty to Insight
In an environment where regulatory decisions and economic policy can swing the cost of care dramatically, hospitals need more than just awareness—they need action-ready data. Kermit bridges the gap between unpredictable market shifts and strategic financial decision-making.
The Trump administration's tariff proposals may be out of your control—but how you respond doesn’t have to be. With the right tools in place, your hospital can not only weather the impact but come out stronger, smarter, and more financially resilient.
About Kermit
Kermit is the leading provider of implant spend management solutions, empowering healthcare organizations to optimize their procurement processes and achieve substantial savings. With a comprehensive suite of purpose-built technology and strategic advisory services, Kermit helps clients streamline operations, enhance financial performance, and deliver exceptional patient care.
Since being founded in 2011, Kermit has achieved more than $300+ million in implant savings for client hospitals, health systems, and ambulatory surgery centers. When Kermit’s suite of complementary software and services offerings are deployed, increased efficiencies create the cleanest transaction possible for all stakeholders involved in the bill-only process.