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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHospitals are holding back from ordering more medical ventilators because of the high cost
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washingtonpost Hospitals are holding back from ordering more medical ventilators because of the high cost for what may be only a short-term spike in demand from the coronavirus epidemic, industry specialists say. Mechanical ventilators, which help patients breathe or breathe for them, are considered critical to the nations effort to contain the worst effects of the pandemic, and avoid a crisis like the one Italy is facing. But depending on how bad the coronavirus pandemic gets in the United States, individual cities could come up thousands of ventilators short as patients flood hospitals, researchers say. Ventilators range from $25,000 for a basic model up to $50,000 for a machine used in the most advanced intensive care units. Buying them also requires additional large investments in staff and training.
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It's shameful that money will be the reason we lose people to coronavirus.
Federal gov't should just buy the ventilators and then strike a deal to sell them back to the companies to refurbish & resell.
If trump can authorize 50 billion dollars to bail out corporations, he can authorize whatever monies are needed to save human lives.
I'm just so ashamed of our federal gov't.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)jimfields33
(15,462 posts)Its the state. The federal needs to buy more for the VA in case their is a flux.
alittlelark
(18,886 posts)????????????? States, not Fed???????
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"If it were easy every country in the world would have it. Youll live..."
Oh, the unintended consequence of our own words is often far more ironic than we may realize.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Problem was, hospitals spent on all kinds of stuff, staff, etc. -- without worrying about the cost. If we were still under that system, hospitals would have more ventilators, ICU beds, etc., than they'd ever need.
Then in 80s, the reimbursement system changed to basically paying hospitals a set amount for the patient's condition (with some adjustments from outliers from the average). It made sense at time, but not so much right now.
Government definitely needs to purchase more ventilators, even if they have to pay extra for expedited manufacturing.
iluvtennis
(19,757 posts)Frustratedlady
(16,254 posts)and hotels. This virus is supposed to turn around and hit us again, as viruses often do.
Reportedly, the big companies we bailed out before didn't use the money the way it was intended, but bought back their stock to please their investors. When I heard Trump mention, time and time again, the companies he was concentrating on, I thought of Mar a Lago, for one, as well as his golf courses.
I'd like to see a list of what companies are getting all these billions while our citizens will be gasping for breath because hospitals can't afford extra ventilators.
iluvtennis
(19,757 posts)Azathoth
(4,603 posts)Hospitals operate with borderline monopolies anyway. They can go deeper into the red and know they will get bailed out.