States Will Aggregate Demand for PPE, Medical Equipment and Testing on a Regional Basis
Regional Supply Chains Will Help Realize Better Pricing, Delivery and Reliability of PPE and Medical Equipment for States
Governor Cuomo: "The word neighbor has a different connotation. You don't normally think of surrounding states as neighbors. You think of the person next door as your neighbor but they are neighbors. They've acted as neighbors. I cannot tell you how supportive Governor Murphy in New Jersey and Governor Lamont in Connecticut and the other governors in our coalition have been. Literally where you can pick up a phone and I can say, I need help with masks. Do you have any extra masks? Do you have any extra gowns? That's how these states responded. It was a beautiful and generous way of operating that was an inspiration to me."
Governor Cuomo: "We're going to form a consortium with our seven Northeast partner states which buy about $5 billion worth of equipment and supplies. That will then increase our market power when we are buying and we will buy as a consortium, price as a consortium, for PPE equipment, ventilators, medical equipment, whatever we need to buy. When you put all those hospitals together, all that public health capacity together -- which will make us more competitive in the international marketplace -- I believe it will save taxpayers money. I also believe it will help us actually get the equipment because we have trouble still getting the equipment and just buying the equipment because these vendors on the other side they're are dealing with countries, they're dealing with the federal government - why should they do business with one state when they can do business with an entire country? So this consortium I think will help us to get the equipment and get it at a better price."
