Cutthroat suppliers, shady middlemen, phantom shipments, prices soaring by the hour. What sounds like an organized-crime thriller is actually the new world of government purchasing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Increasingly in recent days, governors across the U.S. have described in unbelievable terms the dog-eat-dog global marketplace they have had to navigate for the protective gear doctors, nurses and other front-line medical workers need as they brace for an expected wave of patients afflicted with severe cases of the new coronavirus.
They are competing against other states, countries and even their own federal government. And here’s what they find: Ventilators quickly doubling in cost.