New York state is paying 20 cents for gloves that normally cost less than five cents, $7.50 for masks that normally go for 50 cents, $2,795 for infusion pumps that normally cost half that, $248,841 for a portable X-ray machine that typically sells for $30,000 to $80,000.
Who's pocketing all this? An array of producers, importers, wholesalers and speculators. State laws against price gouging usually don't apply to government purchases.
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