Today, the Ways and Means Committee Democrats released new materials further detailing the role the U.S. health system plays in the climate crisis, focusing on the health care supply chain and including a new fact sheet on inhalers. Today’s reports build on existing materialsto document the ways group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are helping their members respond to extreme weather events and the extent to which they are leveraging purchasing power to encourage suppliers to improve their environmental, social, or governance standards. The health care supply chain represents 82 percent of total U.S. health sector emissions. The materials also include a fact sheet on stakeholder responses related to the environmental impact of pressurized metered dose inhalers.
The materials released today punctuate the first part of the report’s findings, which show that the health care system is at various stages in confronting the climate crisis, and that the federal government has a role to play in supporting and organizing the sector through these challenges.
"As a major sector of our economy,the health care industry has a role to play in helping combat the climate crisis," Ranking Member Neal said. "The historic Inflation Reduction Act is turbocharging our green economy, while Republicans attempt to undo our progress at every turn, we are committed to action and today’s materials underscores just how pressing the need is. Ways and Means Democrats will continue our work in this area and partner with the Biden Administration and providers across the country to develop a path forward that moves us towards our climate goals."
The health care industry is responsible for an estimated 8.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, and this work was born out of a series of requests for information from stakeholders around the country representing the continuum of care. In 2022, Ranking Member Neal issued a request for information examining how GPOs are driving environmental and social change in the health care industry. GPOs are unique in their ability to assist health providers in both more environmentally-friendly purchasing and in navigating potential care disruptions from climate-induced events. In the time since the initial request for information, GPOs have continued their work in this area. Ranking Member Neal additionally issued a request for information on the environmental impacts of pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), with a summary of the findings now available HERE.
"Health Care and the Climate Crisis: Preparing America's Health Care Infrastructure"
- Part Oneprovides an overview of the problem, description of Ranking Member Neal's 2022 Request for Information, and summary statistics from an analysis of survey respondents
- Part Two examines how the climate crisis and the prevalence of extreme weather events impact health care organizations
- Part Three describes how health care organizations are assessing their environmental impact and working to reduce their respective carbon footprints
- Part Four summarizes findings and provides a discussion of implications
- Part Five is an appendix with survey methodology, limitations, and supplemental tables
- (NEW) Part Six explores how the health care supply chain impacts the climate crisis
- (NEW) Part Sevenanalyzes the role of Group Purchasing Organizations in driving environmental and social change in the health care supply chain
- (NEW) Part Eight includes a discussion of the findings and overview of methods
- (NEW) Inhalers & the Environment
- List of Respondents
The Committee's Requests for Information from: