Vizient Projects Continued Cost Pressures Across the Healthcare Supply Chain in 2026

Business Wire

5 days ago

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vizient® released its Summer 2025 Spend Management Outlook forecasting a 3.35% increase in pharmaceutical prices in 2026 with healthcare providers seeing increased usage in GLP-1 therapies, specialty medications and high-cost cell and gene therapies. Supply chain prices in products, materials and services are projected to rise 2.41%, led by IT services, capital equipment and surgical supplies. Read the Summer 2025 Spend Management Outlook.
The Outlook provides a forward-looking analysis of product cost inflation for the 2026 calendar year and identifies ongoing market challenges—including the evolving impact of U.S. tariffs. Established tariffs as of April were considered in the formulation of the projections for supply chain categories outside of pharmacy. Vizient continues to monitor pending and potential tariffs working with suppliers and providers to mitigate any impact.
CAR-T therapies and GLP-1s reshape pharmacy market dynamics
An analysis of the Vizient Clinical Data Base shows specialty therapies—particularly CAR-T cellular therapies—emerge as one of the dominant drivers of inpatient drug spend across all acquisition channels. These treatments, such as Carvykti® manufactured by Janssen Biotech, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and Yescarta®, manufactured by Kite Pharma, a Gilead Sciences company, are used for complex conditions such as hematologic cancers.
'These emerging therapeutic technologies are typically obtained through direct-from-manufacturer purchasing models rather than traditional wholesale distribution, which puts additional cost and operational pressures on healthcare organizations and clinical teams,' said Carina Dolan, associate vice president, clinical oncology, pharmacoeconomics & market insights, Vizient. 'Health systems must be equipped not only to deliver these therapies, but also to manage their financial impact and navigate the complex acquisition and reimbursement processes associated with them.'
Spend for GLP-1 tirzepatide (Mounjaro® and Zepbound™), both manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company, surged by 167% in 2024 compared to 2023 among Vizient pharmacy program participants, with GLP-1 agents ranking seventh and eighth in total Vizient-tracked wholesaler pharmacy spend. As these therapies help reduce obesity-related conditions, hospitals may see a decline in certain associated procedures, including those for hernias, pressure-related wounds and soft tissue complications. At the same time, providers must prepare for potential increases in surgeries linked to medication side effects, such as cholecystectomies or procedures addressing gastrointestinal complications.
Immune globulin surpasses Humira® amid rising autoimmune treatment costs
Autoimmune and inflammatory therapies have overtaken oncology as the top therapeutic class for the first time, now accounting for 24.83% of total wholesaler-based pharmacy spend among Vizient program participants. Immune globulin is now the number one drug by spend, with a 22% increase since January, driven by expanding use in pediatric and chronic disease segments.
Humira® (manufactured by AbbVie Inc.), a longstanding leader in total Vizient pharmacy spend, has declined 7.6% since January to No. 2 in total Vizient pharmacy program spend due to the increase in biosimilar competition.
Indirect spend category and capital equipment lead supply chain inflation
Indirect spend, encompassing non-clinical goods and services such as security, food services, information technology and construction, accounts for approximately 20-25% of a hospital's total expenses and is expected to rise 3.34%, driven by IT services prices, projected to rise 5.5% and prices for non-medical capital equipment for purchases such as HVAC and furniture, projected to rise 4.17%.
Rising labor costs, diseases impacting poultry, cattle and produce and weather-related events, such as drought in the Midwest leading to reduced cattle herds, are driving cost pressures across key food categories—contributing to supply instability and continued pricing volatility. Food prices are projected to increase by 3.31%.
'These changes will significantly impact procurement strategies for health systems in the coming year,' said Jeff King, research and intelligence director, Vizient.
Additional areas of focus include:
Medical capital equipment— Molecular imaging and nuclear medicine emerged as a newly tracked capital spend category, reflecting growing investment in precision diagnostics and theranostics, therapies that combine therapeutic and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, across health systems.
Molecular imaging and nuclear medicine emerged as a newly tracked capital spend category, reflecting growing investment in precision diagnostics and theranostics, therapies that combine therapeutic and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, across health systems. Surgical supplies— Prices for surgical supplies are projected to rise 3.28%, driven in part by increases in raw material prices, manufacturing labor costs and fluctuating freight expenses.
Prices for surgical supplies are projected to rise 3.28%, driven in part by increases in raw material prices, manufacturing labor costs and fluctuating freight expenses. Physician preference items—This category, including cardiology, surgical services and orthopedic devices, continues to show high variability, underscoring the need for greater standardization and strategic sourcing strategies.
The Spend Management Outlook projects the price of products purchased in both the acute and ambulatory care environments providing a year-over-year estimate of the expected price changes. Pharmacy projections are based on Vizient client purchases made through traditional wholesaler channels from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025. Supply chain projections are based on a Vizient analysis of various public sources including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Energy Information Administration and Vizient product category expertise. Read more about the latest Spend Management Outlook.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the nation's largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company, serves more than 65% of the nation's acute care providers, including 97% of the nation's academic medical centers, and more than 35% of the non-acute market. The Vizient contract portfolio represents $140 billion in annual purchasing volume enabling the delivery of cost-effective, high-value care. With its acquisition of Kaufman Hall in 2024, Vizient expanded its advisory services to help providers achieve financial, strategic, clinical and operational excellence. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.