Coronavirus pandemic
The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Gouged prices, middlemen and medical supply chaos: Why governors are so upset with Trump

Masks that used to cost pennies now cost several dollars. Companies outside the traditional supply chain offer wildly varying levels of price and quality. Health authorities say they have few other choices to meet their needs in a ‘dog-eat-dog’ battle.

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March 27, 2020 at 4:46 p.m. EDT
An N95 mask at Massachusetts General Hospital. (Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post)

Inside RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey’s biggest health-care network, hospital leaders are so desperate for medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic that they’re paying 50 times the usual price.

Confusion and want are so massive that they’ve been willing to work with sellers they don’t know, even paying upfront for the equipment they need. The threat of fraud is everywhere: A recent delivery of 500,000 surgical masks from a Chinese supplier turned out to be medically useless. They appeared designed for a nail salon.