The shortage of hospital beds in the U.S. didn't happen by accident. It's a result of both market pressures and public policy.

Why it matters: The bed shortage is one of many factors complicating America's response to the new coronavirus. But if we want to have more beds and critical equipment on hand for the next pandemic, the government will need to make it happen — and pay for it.

By the numbers: The U.S. has 2.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people, far fewer than other developed countries.

How it happened: Health care resources, including hospital beds, are allocated mainly by market dynamics, not public-health blueprints. 

Government also worked to directly cut the number of U.S. hospital beds, believing in a rule called Roemer's Law, which said that "a hospital bed built would be a hospital bed filled," driving up costs.

The bottom line: If we want to have surge capacity of hospital beds and equipment in place for the next crisis, and if we don’t want to push health care costs higher, hospitals will need to acquire extra beds and then leave that surge capacity largely unused until the next crisis.