International concentration of the industry that makes making medical equipment, supplies and drugs is a false economy — it optimizes profit for normal circumstances and prevents ramping up production when there is an epidemic. Instead it leads to competition between countries for something they all need.

I think that countries should agree that each will maintain production facilities that can be ramped up when needed, for a wide variety of medical needs.

One danger of relying on private hospitals, as the US heavily does, is that they may shut down just when they are most needed.

Private equity funds are buying up small companies in certain US medical fields, consolidating them, and making them gouge people.