OPINION:
America’s strategic competition with China requires vigilance across conventional and less-visible fronts.
As foreign competitors increasingly view civilian infrastructure and consumer technologies as potential strategic entry points, it’s becoming clear that national security today is shaped as much by infrastructure and technology as by military strength.
That reality requires that the tools Americans rely on in their daily lives be resilient against foreign exploitation.
Health care infrastructure deserves particular attention. Telehealth platforms and connected medical devices now form a vast digital ecosystem that continuously generates sensitive data while supporting essential care. Like energy grids or telecommunications networks, these systems can create vulnerabilities if security considerations lag behind cost or convenience.
Strategic competitors understand this. It’s why China has made dominance in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and data-driven industries a national priority, and why Chinese law requires companies to cooperate with state intelligence services when requested.
Connected medical devices illustrate this evolving challenge. Millions of Americans depend on technologies that transmit health information outside traditional clinical settings. Continuous glucose monitors, for example, allow people living with diabetes to track blood sugar levels in real time, reducing emergencies and improving independence.
Yet they are also sophisticated sensors that continuously collect biological data and transmit it via software platforms, wireless networks and cloud storage systems.
At the population scale, that information represents more than clinical insight; it becomes a valuable form of biometric intelligence.
This context makes particularly consequential the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed expansion of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies Competitive Bidding Program to include devices that transmit medical data online.
The program is designed to lower Medicare costs by awarding contracts to suppliers offering the lowest qualified bids. Placing these devices into a bidding system based on cost alone could invite foreign manufacturers into the Medicare supply chain, including firms with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and government, and pose a serious national security risk.
Experience shows that supply-chain vulnerabilities often become apparent only after a disruption. During the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, shortages of basic medical supplies revealed how dependence on overseas manufacturing can complicate crisis response.
Connected medical devices introduce an additional layer of complexity, not only with regard to physical supply chains but also ongoing software updates, firmware dependencies and data transmission pathways that extend beyond national borders to places that respect neither privacy nor the rule of law.
Members of Congress have warned that sensitive American data is not safe in the hands of Chinese companies, and they have described the issue as a direct security threat. This concern reflects a broader truth that those of us in defense have long understood. Health data is not benign. When controlled or accessed by hostile actors, it can be exploited for surveillance, influence or coercive leverage.
State leaders have emphasized that patient data gathered by medical devices must be protected from foreign control. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, for one, has been clear that such systems should never transmit information to organizations under the authority of the CCP.
This position mirrors the Defense Department’s approach to sensitive technologies, recognizing that any network capable of influencing public confidence or societal stability deserves the same rigorous oversight as other critical infrastructure.
None of this suggests that cost discipline should be abandoned in health care procurement. Competitive bidding frameworks such as DMEPOS may need to evolve to incorporate security criteria alongside price considerations, much as defense procurement routinely weighs cost considerations against resilience, supply chain integrity and data protection.
Savings achieved by overlooking those factors can prove short-lived if vulnerabilities later require costly mitigation or erode public trust.
Safeguarding sensitive medical technologies is not a partisan issue or a theoretical concern; it’s a strategic necessity. Devices that manage chronic disease are woven into daily life for seniors, veterans and working families. As CMS moves forward with the DMEPOS competitive bidding process, ensuring that security considerations stand alongside affordability will help preserve access to high-quality devices while protecting something even more valuable than technology: the safety and security of the American people.
• Rob Maness is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel serving on the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission. He is a U.S. Naval War College graduate, a former U.S. Senate candidate and a conservative commentator.
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