Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 9 (April 30, 2020)
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a contract with General Electric for 50,000 ventilators to be produced by July 13. This contract, rated under the Defense Production Act, adds to the total expected ventilators to be produced or acquired by HHS: 41,000 by the end of May and 187,000 by the end of the year.
HHS announced on April 13 that the department had entered contracts to produce more than 100,000 ventilators[2] with several different companies, including General Electric, Hill-Rom, Medtronic, ResMed, and Vyaire, as well as Hamilton and Zoll.
The Defense Production Act allows the federal government to compel private enterprise to produce goods required in a national emergency.