As COVID-19 continues to sweep our nation, drug and med-surg supply shortages, price gouging, and fraudulent activities are increasingly impacting our healthcare systems’ Supply Chain and Accounts Payable departments. 

This Week’s P2P COVID-19 Updates 

Price Gouging of Short Supplies Continues  

While there are widespread efforts to curb price gouging during this crisis, health systems continue to fall victim, paying any price to procure necessary supplies. The state of New York, as a whole, is paying up to 15 times normal pricing for their medical equipment. Heightened demand and competition among states, cities, and hospitals contribute to the markup. Equipment that saw markup in New York includes: 

• 400% mark-up  on gloves 
• $7.50 charged for masks previously available for32 cents each through GPO contracts 
• $2,795 spent on infusion pumps – a 200% markup 
• $248,841 spent on a portable X-ray machine that usually costs $30,000 – $80,000 

Medical Supply Exchange – Pre-Registration Open Now 

Resilinc announces a new way for healthcare providers to collaborate through a medical supply exchange. Partnering with Premier and UPS, the exchange platform aims to open mid-April, connecting hospitals with equipment shortages to hospitals with a surplus. Pre-registration is open now.

FBI Warns of Medical Equipment Fraud Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Price gouging on medical equipment is only part of the nightmare facing healthcare procurement departments at this time. The FBI issued a warning regarding suspicious sourcing and ask hospitals to supply tips on suspicious activity. The bureau advises hospitals to be on the lookout for:

• Unusual payment terms (e.g., supplier asking for up-front payments or proof of payment)
• Last-minute price changes
• Last-minute excuses for delay in shipment (e.g., claims that the equipment was seized at port or stuck in customs)
• Unexplained source of bulk supply

Find more tips from the Federal Trade Commission.

Need help monitoring your vendor and payment data for fraud? Message us now for help.

As COVID-19 cases near their peak, challenges facing supply chain are plentiful. Reach out to us to maintain your data, scan your data for fraud, and increase cash on hand. We will use our recovery expertise to deliver immediate cash and utilize our relationships with vendors to help with supply shortages where we can.