Letter to Joseph Biden, President of the United States - Action Needed Re: Medical Dye Shortage

Letter

Dear Mr. President,

As Members of Congress representing constituents whose livelihoods continue to face difficulties due to supply chain issues, the rising cost of fuel, and overreliance on Chinese-made medical products -- we urge you to immediately alleviate shortages of intravenous contrast fluids, which are necessary to perform Computer Tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cancer, diagnose trauma injuries, and identify clots in the brain or heart.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to report shortages of Iohexol and Iodixanol intravenous contrast media products, which are widely used in these medical scans. Hospitals nationwide are postponing procedures and rationing supplies of this needed dye. For example, at the University of Virginia, more than 680 CT imaging appointments that were scheduled between May 6 and June 30 have either been rescheduled or canceled due to this shortage. This is only one of many examples.

With the lack of intravenous contrast fluids and the potential for further depletion, many physicians and patients could continue facing delays in the detection of diseases like cancer. We urge your Administration to immediately deploy a whole of government response and work directly with stakeholders to resolve this shortage.

Further, we understand that the shortage of intravenous contrast fluids has risen from lockdowns by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and our nation's dependency on Chinese-made medical products. It is imperative that you prioritize efforts to domestically produce medical products such as intravenous contrast fluids and reduce federal barriers that prevent disbursement of needed medical products. Moreover, this shortage highlights the urgent need to establish an outbound investment review process to ensure that critical capabilities are not being offshored, especially to our adversaries, without visibility by the U.S. government. A proactive approach would address supply chain resiliency, improve access to care, and lower costs for our constituents.

The need to immediately alleviate the shortage of intravenous contrast fluids is urgent and must be addressed, especially as more than 70 million CT scans are performed every year. Our offices stand ready to work with you to ensure that we have enough supply of this needed dye and other medical products for years to come.