Senator Rick Scott and his Committee on Aging are urging the Trump administration to buy American.
The Chinese Communist Party is collecting data on American medical patients through wearable devices and other health-care products manufactured in China, raising concerns among lawmakers that Beijing will use the information to exploit weaknesses in the American health-care system and population.
Chinese companies produce a wide range of medical devices, including products intended for use by health-care professionals and consumer products such as smart watches and other wearable devices. Data from those devices is then collected and stored on company servers in China, where government officials are entitled to access it under Chinese law. Many Americans purchase these Chinese products through taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
The U.S. Special Committee on Aging, led by Senator Rick Scott, raised concerns about this vulnerability in a letter to the Trump administration, obtained by National Review.
“The CCP views the collection of health and genetic data as a national priority and has a well-documented history of collecting genomic data from Americans,” the letter reads.
Contec Medical Systems — a major Chinese medical device company —manufactures monitors that track vital signs. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) previously warned these devices open the window to Chinese infiltration, as an “embedded backdoor function with a hard-coded IP address and functionality that enables patient data spillage,” the letter explains.
This “back door” allows data to flow from the patient to remote servers in China. Notably, Chinese law does not allow any Chinese company to refuse to provide data to the government if it is requested, meaning this American data sent to Chinese servers is vulnerable to CCP infiltration. The Food and Drug Administration has similarly warned about this Chinese-manufactured product.
Scott’s committee is pushing the Trump administration to prioritize purchasing American-made medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs over products from China, to mitigate security threats in the American health-care system.
Scott is urging Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to stop using federal funds to purchase Chinese equipment that opens the American medical system to surveillance.
“The FBI reported that in a single year period, the health care industry faced more cyberattacks than any other critical infrastructure sector in the country,” Scott previously wrote.
Last year’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act included $50 billion for the Rural Health Transformation Program, which allows states to fund rural-health initiatives including technology-enabled solutions and investments in software and hardware. The concern, however, is that these federal funds will be spent on Chinese products.
“CMS should require that any medical device or service provider store its data domestically, and not in Communist China,” the letter reads. “No federal funds should ever be used to purchase medical devices or equipment that is manufactured in China when an alternative domestic supplier is available.”
The U.S. relationship with China remains a major political issue, especially in light of Chinese President Xi JinPing’s trip to Washington D.C., last month for a three day state visit. Another meeting between the two heads of state is set for this November in China.
Concerns about Chinese influence on American life extends beyond medical devices and equipment. There has historically been concerns regarding Chinese infiltration of the American education system, as well as over reliance on Chinese manufacturing of consumer goods, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, Chinese companies produce more than 90 percent of the U.S. supply of antibiotics.
“It is essential that we do not allow Communist China or Chinese manufacturers to exploit these funds as an opportunity to sell products to rural health providers at the American taxpayer’s expense,” the letter reads. “Chinese medical devices are already found throughout hospital settings, and we should not be expanding their reach. The American Hospital Association already views the use of Chinese medical devices as a threat.”