Coronavirus: White House says $1 Billion may be too much to produce 20,000 ventilators, is looking at other options

The White House has been working on a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems which can produce more than 20,000 ventilators. However, the New York Times reported this is now being delayed.

The production would cost $1 billion, and the White House asked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess whether or not the price tag was too expensive.

At $1 billion, the price per ventilator would run in at $50,000. However, part of the $1 billion would also be used to refit the equipment at the General Motors car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind.

The deal hasn't been canceled, but the government is now looking at other vendors that have submitted proposals due to the initial promise from General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators, which then tenuously shrunk to 7,500.

"With GM's help, Ventec will increase ventilator production," said Chris Kiple, Ventec Life Systems CEO. "By tapping their expertise, GM is enabling us to get more ventilators to more hospitals much faster. This partnership will help save lives."

President Donald J. Trump had previously said that he was surprised by the overwhelming need for ventilators across the country.

"We have tremendous numbers of ventilators, but there's never been an instance like this where no matter what you have, it's not enough," said Trump on March 18. "It sounds like a lot, but this is a very unforeseen thing. Nobody ever thought of these numbers." A day later, he doubled down, noting that "nobody in their wildest dreams would have ever thought that we'd need tens of thousands of ventilators."

New York has seen larger numbers infected than any other state so far. New York has recorded 39,140 confirmed cases with 461 deaths. By comparison, the next most affected state is New Jersey, with 6,876 and 81 deaths.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been critical of FEMA's response.

"FEMA says, 'we're sending 400 ventilators," said Cuomo at a Wednesday news conference. "Really? What am I going to do with 400 ventilators when I need 30,000?"

Cuomo said that the federal government has large numbers of ventilators but is cautious about sending them to the areas that need them. He said that once they have used them to deal with the outbreak in New York he would personally make sure they are sent to the next state that requires them.

General Motors, Ventec Life Systems and a coalition of business executives called StopTheSpread.org issued a statement saying, " This is a vital step in delivering relief to our healthcare system, which is threatened by the spread of COVID-19. As this virus continues to endanger the lives of countless Americans, StopTheSpread.org is working to unite the business community around a common threat to our economy and our way of life. We know the strength of this effort relies on urgent coordination between the public and private sectors in order to get through this crisis."

Those issues appeared to come to a head on Wednesday afternoon, when FEMA told the White House that it was premature to make a decision, according to the New York Times.

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