Major Changes to Medical Consumables Listing and Procurement Rules Effective Next Month, Announced by Tianjin Healthcare Security Bureau
Medtronic
Medical Device Manufacturer
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On June 23, the Tianjin Municipal Healthcare Security Administration issued the "Notice on Further Promoting the Online Procurement of Medical Consumables" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), Tianjin medical consumablesSystemic Changes to Online Listing Rules.
It is understood that the "Notice"Effective from July 1, valid for 5 years.
Effective July 1!
New Regulations on Online Listing and Reimbursement of Medical Consumables
Key Points of Tianjin’s New RegulationsWorth Breaking Down。
In terms of the scope of online listing, the document requires that all relevant products under the national medical insurance classification for medical consumables (including in vitro diagnostic reagents) be listed and procured as mandated (“list all that should be listed, procure all that should be procured”), and products with a Unique Device Identification (UDI) must be uploaded simultaneously.
Meanwhile,Four Hanging WiresExclusions: Items without a national medical insurance code will not be listed; items whose registration certificates or filing certificates have been revoked or suspended will not be listed; items that do not comply with quality and safety standards will not be listed.
Pricing Level: Clear Classification Management Logic
Products Selected in Centralized ProcurementListed online directly at the selected bid price; non-selected products shall not exceed the upper limit set by the national or inter-provincial alliance.
Non-Centralized Procurement ProductsThe online listing price shall not exceed the level in provinces where it is already listed; those with clearly unreasonable price differences will be "urged to make adjustments within a specified time limit or have necessary measures such as volume-based procurement linkage implemented."
It can be said that the rules are quite stringent, but in contrast to this,"Innovative Products Have Opened a Channel for 'First Launch Online Listing'", enterprises may independently set reasonable prices for the initial listing on the Tianjin procurement platform,Not referencing existing prices from other provinces, which is also one of the few flexible provisions in this "Notice".
However, what truly warrants close examination is that the "Notice" explicitly proposes to "deeply advance medical consumablesNo Procurement, No Payment", which means that all designated medical institutions under the national health insurance scheme must complete online procurement through the centralized procurement platform,"No entry into the system, no payment from medical insurance."
Furthermore, the procurement platform will also be able to"Three-Color Nine-Segment Line"Intuitively display the price ranges of various consumables, making it clear at a glance where each product stands nationwide."
In addition to Tianjin, currently includingGuizhou, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, GuangdongMore than ten provinces, among others, have successively issued new regulations for the online listing of medical consumables. However, these policy documents are merely an entry ticket; what truly exerts pressure is the intensive launch of medical consumable price governance initiatives across various regions since the second half of 2025—“Withdrawal from the procurement network if prices are not adjusted” has become the norm.
June 24,Inner MongoliaThe Medical Procurement Center issued the "Notice on Carrying Out Voluntary Price Reductions for the Online Listing Prices of Certain Medical Consumables,"Before June 30,Category 41 ConsumablesRelevant enterprises mustActiveSubmit Price Reduction Application, if the price reduction is not completed within the specified period,The online listing eligibility for this product will be suspended.
It is reported that, including consumables such as thrombosis protection devices, anti-embolism cerebral protection devices, transcarotid retrograde thrombosis protection devices, and implantable single-chamber cardioverter-defibrillators,41 Types of Consumable Products Require Price Reductions, involvingMedtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Covidien, MicroPort, Tongqiao Medical, Xianjian Technology...and 74 other well-known domestic and international medical device companies.
On June 23, the very day Tianjin issued its document,Kunming CityThe National Healthcare Security Administration simultaneously released the "Notice on the Linked Price Adjustment of Selected Products from the Provincial Alliance Volume-Based Procurement of Medical Consumables Led by Kunming City,"Related CompaniesMust proactively report and apply for the online price linkage update before July 1., failure to submit on time shall be deemed asWaive Selected Bidder Status。
Based on data screening, in the first, second, and third batches of volume-linked procurement of medical consumables in Kunming City, some selected enterprises generated new lower prices outside the province that were below the Kunming volume-linked procurement prices. This involved nearly 3,000 products from more than 130 enterprises, including Johnson & Johnson, Winner Medical, Zhende Medical, Fujifilm, Covidien, Tuoren, and Sanrui Bio.
Heilongjiang ProvinceOn May 29, the Public Resource Trading Center issued a notice announcing the results of data governance for online-listed medical consumables, with a final total of21,221 Product IDs Proposed for Removal from Online Listing，Involving 142 companies, including Stryker, MicroPort Scientific, Terumo, and Biotronik.
At the beginning of this month,Henan ProvinceIt also formally accepts online listing declarations through the "National Joint Review and Unified Processing" portal. Information such as the online listing price and the source province of the price declared by enterprises must be verified and approved by each province before being listed online in accordance with requirements.
Further ahead,Hainan ProvinceThe Provincial Healthcare Security Administration announced province-wide in AprilFirst Batch of Key Governance List for Medical Consumables, covering 41 consumable products.
Hainan has clarified that new lower prices must be proactively declared within 30 days; failure to do so will result in a three-month suspension of the online listing eligibility for the same category of products.Products not selected in the centralized procurement that exceed the upper price limit shall be directly suspended from online listing.
Undoubtedly,Price Linkage: There Are Never Any Bystanders,The game rule of "adjust prices or exit the market" has been rolled out nationwide.
Consumables Price Governance,
Entering the Era of "Automated System Price Comparison"
Behind the intensive measures taken by various provinces lies a vast network that has been woven over many years.
2019, the Reform Plan for the Governance of High-Value Medical Consumables first proposed a unified coding system and information platform for medical consumables, and implemented direct online procurement for consumables that had already gained medical insurance access. In the same year, the National Healthcare Security Administration released the classification and codes for medical consumables covered by medical insurance, adopting a 20-digit coding structure,Medical consumables now have a nationally unified "ID card."
Since then, the National Healthcare Security Administration’s path has been clear to the point of being nearly linear:First, standardize the language through coding; second, unify the infrastructure via a platform; and finally, harmonize prices through regulations.
By 2025, the bidding and procurement subsystem of the National Healthcare Security Administration Information Platform has been fully implemented nationwide, and data interoperability among provincial bidding and procurement platforms has been basically achieved.The “listed in one province, accessible nationwide” framework is gradually taking shape.
Furthermore, it is equally predictable that the national online listing price system isFrom "Searchable" to "Usable"，Automated comparison, proactive alerts, and linked price adjustments will replace manual operations as the norm.。The alignment between the listed price and the medical insurance payment price is underway, meaning that the listed price will no longer serve merely as a procurement reference but will gradually become the basis for medical insurance payment standards.
Followed by,It represents a fundamental shift in the competitive logic:With the advent of price transparency, the distribution model that profits from information asymmetry is accelerating toward obsolescence. The paths remaining for enterprises are either to drive down costs through scale or to build competitive moats through genuine innovation.
After Tianjin, who will be the next to follow suit is no longer important.Importantly, the direction has been set.
