In 2023, $8 billion was spent on medical meetings, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
There are 1,800 pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and 3,600 medical device companies. They have multiple meetings each year, amounting to over 1.5 million medical meetings planned in the U.S. for 2025. This is according to Pat Schaumann, president of Schaumann Consulting Group. In addition, Schaumann is director of MPI’s Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program.
Here are four potential impacts on medical meetings worth considering.
1. Cuts to Federal Funding Result in Less Medical Meetings
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research and a significant sponsor of scientific meetings. In the past few weeks, the NIH has been part of the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo and the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. In addition, the NIH has events on its campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
NIH seems poised for a major overhaul if Robert F. Kennedy Jr is confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Funding cuts to federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, or reduced budgets for agencies like the FDA and NIH, could indirectly impact event budgets and the demand for medical conferences,” said Jessica Weller, senior director of global strategic enterprise customers, CWT Meetings & Events.
2. Fewer International Attendees of Medical Meetings
According to the U.S. Travel Association, between 2017 and 2018, international tourism to the U.S. declined by about 5.4%. There were fewer travel visas issued and a travel ban on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Declines in international attendance were reported at major U.S. trade shows and conventions. This led to meeting professionals shifting events to other countries. In addition, virtual options were made available.
Many academic institutions and professional organizations reported difficulties in securing visas for international attendees. For example: in 2017, some international scientists were unable to attend conferences in the U.S. This prompted organizations like the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to voice concerns.
In addition, there is the Society for Neuroscience’s annual conference in 2018. Aeila Akbari, a researcher, could not attend due to the travel ban and spoke out. “Restricting attendance to conferences damages science and scientists,” she said.
Medical Congresses May Turn Away from the U.S.
“Stricter immigration or travel policies could hinder international attendance. This will push organizations toward more domestic or hybrid meeting formats. Navigating these dynamics will require adaptability as the industry prepares for potential shifts in priorities and resources,” said Weller.
If international relations grow tense under a second Trump term, some foreign groups might choose destinations outside the U.S. for their medical congresses.
“The Trump administration’s immigration policies or global perceptions could impact the ability of international attendees and speakers to participate in U.S.-based medical meetings,” said Jacqueline Beaulieu, director of strategic marketing and client engagement at Poretta & Orr and a trainer for the HMCC program.
Beaulieu is worried about travel and visa policies. “If restrictions or reforms in travel and visa policies make it more challenging for global experts to attend meetings and events, this may impact attendance by limiting the diversity and scope of discussions at meetings,” she said.
3. Fewer Regulations Could Lead to More Spending
If U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration repeals or modifies the Affordable Care Act, it will influence how healthcare organizations allocate budgets. This will affect sponsorships and attendance. Plus, it may alter the focus areas of medical conferences, said Schaumann.
Open Payments, a federally mandated program, requires pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to disclose financial relationships with healthcare providers. This promotes transparency to prevent conflicts of interest in medical research, education, and practice. Last year, there were $12.75 billion in payments to covered recipients in the Open Payments Program, according to CMS.
If Open Payments’ requirements are reduced, it could influence how companies approach financial sponsorship of medical meetings. This could increase spending on events as it would make it easier for companies to pay speaker fees to medical professionals and cover their travel and meals.
4. Staffing
Staffing shortages at hotels and meeting venues have improved although continue to be an issue. Meeting professionals say if there’s a hard push to remove those workers who are not in the U.S. legally, these shortages will get more severe.
President-elect Trump has named Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his administration’s border czar. Homan says he will orchestrate the largest deportation force in U.S. history.
Further, a mass deportation will wreak havoc on labor supply and demand, say meeting professionals.
