What To Do If There’s a Shortage of Your Medications Due To Tariffs
Written by
Nicholas Morine
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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While President Donald Trump appears to have signaled a relaxing of his previously stated plan to introduce significant tariffs (of up to 100%) on imported pharmaceuticals, as Axios noted, the reality is that drug shortages remain a very real thing — and the mercurial nature of contemporary tariff policy means that shortages could once again threaten many prescription holders in the near or immediate future.
Should you end up facing a shortage in your medications due to tariffs, or for other market-related availability issues, what should you do?
Make Sure the Drug Shortage Is Real and Widespread (Not Constrained to Your Local Pharmacy)
While many confuse local pharmacy shortages with broader supply chain issues, there are two primary methods of determining if a vital medication is in shortage across the larger U.S. marketplace.
These methods are consulting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug shortage database, and then the American Society of Health-Service Pharmacists’ equivalent list.
With this information at hand, your family doctor or pharmacist may be able to better serve you in locating alternative inventory elsewhere in legitimate fashion.
Extend Your Working Supply or Medication Cache
To get ahead of any potential shortages, or to ensure you have some maintenance medication on hand in case existing shortages worsen, gather evidence supporting this claim (as mentioned above) and see if your plan is able to sign off on an extended runway to protect against you running out.
According to Medicare, some plans (under Part D) will allow you to acquire prescription medication through mail order, provided all procedural check boxes have been ticked.
However, as the FDA underscored, the temptation to rely on mail-order pharmacies during times of uncertainty grows. If you’re considering this avenue, be sure to use the agency’s BeSafeRx suite of tools and resources to ensure you’re only dealing with safe, verified sources for your medications.
What About Compounding or Compounded Versions of Prescription Drugs?
Things get a little more legally complicated when it comes to compounding drugs, as compounded versions of certain medications are strictly overseen by the agency as well. Please consult with your doctor, pharmacist and FDA fact sheets on the subject before proceeding down this road.
Tariffs Halted (for Now), With Generics Less Likely To Face Trade Barriers and US Supply Shortages
Most recently, President Trump has made it clear that name-brand drugs are the target of any future tariffs on prescription drugs, with generics being off the table in this regard. In any case, it would be wise for any prescription holders to speak to their healthcare providers in order to have a contingency plan in place should shortages appear on the horizon.
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