Home Respiratory Community Urges Administration to Address Semiconductor Chip Shortage for Home Respiratory Devices

WASHINGTON – On March 15, the Council for Quality Respiratory Care – a coalition of the nation’s leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies – and nine other stakeholders in the respiratory care community sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo urging the Administration to use its authority to help address the shortage of semiconductor chips used in home respiratory care equipment. The groups warn that if the shortage is not properly addressed, it could have a negative impact on patients’ ability to access respiratory care in the home.

Excerpts from the letter to Secretaries Becerra and Raimondo include:

“We ask that the Departments prioritize allocating chips to manufacturers of home respiratory devices and ensure that medical device manufacturers receive sufficient chips to meet the medical needs of patients who rely on these devices. The Administration has rightly prioritized expanding access to home medical treatments, but the chip shortage places this expansion at risk.

“The Department of Commerce’s recent report on the semiconductor supply chain confirms what home respiratory therapy manufacturers, suppliers, prescribers, and patients have been experiencing for the past two years. The report acknowledges that semiconductor fabrication plants have little capacity to increase their output. With no other recourse, the federal government needs to take immediate action to prioritize the supply of semiconductor chips to medical device manufacturers. The Defense Production Act provides the Administration with authority to meet the demand for chips used in medical devices. Patients in need of medical devices simply cannot wait until there are more semiconductor chips manufacturing facilities.”

In addition to CQRC, the letter was also signed by AA Homecare, Alpha 1 Foundation, American Association for Respiratory Care, COPD Foundation, Dorney-Koppel Foundation, Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Respiratory Health Association, U.S. COPD Coalition and VGM & Associates.

To read the full stakeholder letter, CLICK HERE.

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About the Council for Quality Respiratory Care
The CQRC is a coalition of the nation’s seven leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies. To learn more, visit cqrc.org and follow CQRC on Twitter at @TheCQRC.