Healthcare workers across America have been told that critical conservation measures are needed to combat a nationwide shortage of IV fluids.
IV fluids are a life-saving treatment for a myriad of treatable ailments. They are the first line of therapy for patients with dangerously low blood pressure due to overwhelming infection, adverse effects from chemotherapy, and peritoneal dialysis treatments for patients with end-stage kidney disease.
As one nurse manager informed nurses in his critical care unit: “We have less than a week’s supply.” How does the richest country in the world run out of such crucial medical supplies?
Monopolization
Production of IV fluids is a lengthy process. They require sterilization and rigorous testing to ensure they’re not contaminated by bacteria or small particles. At around two pounds per bag, they take up a lot of space in transit. In short, they are expensive to produce.
The American IV fluid market is controlled by four corporations, with Baxter International producing 60% of the nation’s supply. Hurricane Helene swept through North Carolina last fall, destroying Baxter’s North Cove plant, where workers manufacture the majority of America’s IV fluids.
As one nurse manager informed nurses in his critical care unit: “We have less than a week’s supply.” / Image: RDNE Stock Project, Pexels
Roughly 97% of American hospitals get their medical supplies from coop buying outlets known as Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs). Suppliers like Baxter negotiate sole-source contracts with GPOs, legally obligating hospitals to buy their supplies and prohibiting them from buying from competitors. These contracts account for nearly $300 billion in purchasing volume every year.
If a supplier is not linked up with a GPO, it is more difficult to sell the volume necessary to make a profit. As a result, big companies like Baxter are able to push out smaller competitors. This is how the market consolidated into four main manufacturers. It’s also the reason for the crisis. Hospitals are locked into binding contracts; they are legally restricted from purchasing desperately needed supplies elsewhere—even when the factory producing the nation’s largest supply of IV fluids is destroyed by a climate catastrophe.
Deadly consequences of capitalist greed
As capitalism continues its terminal decline, disruptions in production and distribution of critical healthcare and medical supplies are increasingly common. In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused IV shortages in Puerto Rico , and the COVID pandemic caused shortages in baby formula and other medical supplies. These disruptions have dire consequences.
Even if reforms were made to GPOs and sole-source contracts, it wouldn’t be enough. The root problem is private ownership. Factories that produce life-saving supplies are owned by greedy capitalists who run them for profit, not human need. The only solution is the destruction of the rotten capitalist system that puts profits over people. Nationalization and workers’ control of the extensive healthcare industry would create a rational system of distribution to prevent shortages and crises like the one we’re suffering today. Communists say: people over profits! Healthcare, not warfare!