Rep. Obernolte joins Michelle Steel, 28 members in urging action on medical dye shortage
This week Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) joined Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) and28 other Members of Congress in urging President Biden to take action to address a growing shortage of medical dye in the U.S. The formal letter to the president raised concerns about the ongoing supply chain crisis and the shortage of intravenous contrast fluids at hospitals nationwide.
“It is critical that we take action to address the dye shortage immediately, before a situation like the baby formula shortage can repeat itself,” said Rep. Obernolte. “We know this next crisis is advancing, and care at our hospitals is already being impacted. This letter serves as an official request to the president to ensure he is aware of the crisis and to encourage immediate action be taken to find sources of medical dye outside of China.”
“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,” the Members wrote.
“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.”
Medical dyes 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. It’s estimated that 50 million exams with contrast dyes are performed every year in the United States. The ongoing supply chain crisis, combined with the recent COVID-19 related lockdowns in China, have further delayed the delivery and availability of these products.
Products like Visipaque and Omnipaque, manufactured in Shanghai, have fallen up to 80%. Experts expect these delays to last throughout the summer months. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner said the shortage of these products was “just unbelievable,” and highlighted the inability of some Americans suffering from major health events from receiving proper testing and care because of the delay.
Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Don Bacon (R-NE), David Joyce (R-OH), Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Bryan Steil (R-WI), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Dan Meuser (R-PA), David Valadao (R-CA), Young Kim, John Rutherford (R-FL), Sam Graves (R-TX), and Tom Emmer (R-MN) joined Reps. Obernolte and Steel in signing the letter.