With respect, any time someone writes "just" in a sentence like this I'm immediately suspicious that it comes from a place of ignorance. What is your qualification to make such a sweeping statement?
1. You can read the ingreendients of IV fluid.
2. You can go online to different markets to see availability.
3. You can look up regulation to see if there are FDA limits that force USA health care to go to a specific vendor or approved vendor.
It is very much known that you can arbitrage medical costs, drug costs by going to Canada and Mexico. It is very much also very simple to research, search and find vendors or manufacturers located outside different geographic areas.
Therefore, your "qualifications" rebuttal becomes nil, this is basic adult literacy.
Call it economics/subsitution research, call it being informed, or just googling.
It is very much not ignorance but a very valid question to a very valid concern - most market restrictions are not because of "safety" (unfortunately, but it does become a boogey man) or "non-availability" (there is supply, but it isn't allowed.) but because it benefits some one/some company financially.
With respect, parent comment is right. It is "just" destiled water with some salts. You also have to remove dissolved gasses and store it in good bags. Tricky part are contaminants and paperwork.
We had similar situation in communist czechoslovakia. There was a plan to manufacture female hygiene products, in a single factory for entire country. This factory burned down on second year of five year plan. So for some time our ladies were forced to use toilet paper. We still managed to make IV fluids though!
My guess US planning is a bit similar. Too special to import medical supplies from neighbours or from Europe.
