Sask. buying most health care equipment and services from U.S.

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As Saskatchewan looks to prioritize non-U.S. procurement, the health-care sector may pose some difficulty as more than half of the province’s health-care procurement is from south of the border.

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Regina-based 3sHealth manages annual contracts for the province’s health-care system to the tune of $223 million, covering things like clinical products, pharmaceuticals and support services as well as a category listed as “other.” The figure does not include things like off-contract purchases, capital equipment, IT or laboratory supplies.

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Approximately $122.6 million in health-care procurement “is sourced from US-headquartered companies,” the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said in an email to the Leader-Post, making the U.S. the largest supplier into the provincial system.

These figures are budget actuals from 2024, the ministry confirmed to the Leader-Post.

The largest single line item is clinical products from U.S. companies, accounting for $98 million in expenditures.

The Ministry of Health said Clinical products include gloves, needles, IV bags, stents and sutures — effectively, “any products that would be used by clinicians to provide care or perform surgery.”

Promise to review contracts

“Obviously, a lot of what we use every day in the health-care sector is manufactured in the U.S.,” said Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill on Tuesday afternoon.

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“We want to make sure that patient care is first and foremost, and that’s maintained across the province, but obviously, if there’s opportunities to review procurement, and if there are opportunities to move to a Canadian supplier or move to a different supplier, we are looking at those,” he said.

When Cockrill was asked if he felt the province was over reliant on the U.S., he answered: “I don’t know if I’d say that.

“The reality is, the United States, along with several European countries, are responsible for a lot of the manufacture of health care goods for countries all over the world,” he said.

In comparison, Canadian companies account for $69.4 million in total spending across 3sHealth’s procurement budget. A remaining $31.5 million across categories comes from countries other than the U.S. or Canada.

NDP health critic Vicki Mowat said the amount of money spent on U.S. suppliers is “really concerning” given the trade war and current bellicose climate.

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“It’s definitely something that requires immediate examination,” said Mowat on Tuesday afternoon, adding the province was slow to respond to U.S. tariffs.

“When we did finally see the premier respond, he promised to review contracts that were coming out of the states, and we’ve yet to receive the results of anything, any of that work, and we would demand that the government, including the Minister of Health, produce the results of those of those studies,” she said.

The Ministry of Health was not able to offer specifics on what was covered in the aforementioned categories.

New procurement directives

There will be a gradual phasing in of new procurement directives, despite a significant amount of essential pharmaceuticals and medical devices coming from U.S.-based suppliers, the Ministry of Health said.

“The priority of the Saskatchewan health system remains to maintain safe, accessible, high quality health care for the people of Saskatchewan. Patient care will not be impacted by the province’s new procurement policy,” said the ministry.

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“3sHealth, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, eHealth and the Ministry of Health are reviewing current procurement with the goal of identifying ways to increase purchasing from Saskatchewan and Canadian vendors, as well as reduce U.S.-based purchases.”

These new directives came into force on March 5 in response to U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian goods. At the time, Canada was facing across-the-board tariffs of 25 per cent — although 10 per cent for energy products. Saskatchewan, like Canada, deployed retaliatory measures.

In Saskatchewan’s tariffs-response plan, the number one guiding principle is to: “Promote the use of Canadian or non-US goods and services wherever feasible. Explore alternative suppliers to reduce reliance on US products.”

The current 25-per-cent U.S. tariffs are to goods not part of the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), excluding potash and energy. Some potash and energy exports do face 10 per cent tariffs. Energy products outside CUSMA face 25 per cent tariffs, as do steel and aluminum.

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More tariffs loom as April 2 approaches.

–with files from Brandon Harder

[email protected]

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