> It seems that the actual problem might just be hospitals being stingy.

Hospitals have to stay afloat just like everyone else. If they go bankrupt, they close, just like everyone else.

If the government agrees it's a national security matter for us to have our own PPE production pipeline, then it needs to stop in. It can't expect private facilities, that have to make their own budget targets, to take on the cost of keeping up national priorities. That's literally what the government is for.