This guy says it better than anyone:
“That’s the problem of leaving any kind of disaster preparedness up to the market and market forces — it will never work,” said Dr. John Hick, who has advised HHS on pandemic preparedness since 2002. “The market is not going to give priority to a relatively no-frills but dependable ventilator that’s not expensive.”
Full article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/business/coronavirus-us-ventilator-shortage.html