{"id":45550,"date":"2023-09-29T15:36:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T22:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/?p=45550"},"modified":"2023-09-29T15:36:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T22:36:10","slug":"the-healthcare-workforce-crisis-should-be-a-national-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/the-healthcare-workforce-crisis-should-be-a-national-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healthcare Workforce Crisis Should Be a National Priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ background_image=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Howard.jpeg” min_height=”629px” custom_margin=”||-6px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ custom_padding_phone=”” hover_enabled=”0″ padding_mobile=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” title_text=”Confidence,,Crossed,Arms,And,Portrait,Of,Team,Of,Doctors,Standing” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||126px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” disabled_on=”on|on|off” _builder_version=”4.16″ height=”200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Sans||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_font_size=”72″ text_line_height=”1.1em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”620px” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”52″ text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

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The Healthcare Workforce Crisis Should Be a National Priority<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.16″ min_height=”1978px” custom_margin=”-86px|||||” custom_padding=”11px|||||” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ custom_padding_phone=”” padding_mobile=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_padding=”20px||0px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-06-at-9.44.14-AM.png” title_text=”Screen Shot 2020-06-06 at 9.44.14 AM” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ animation=”off” sticky=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#02b875″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.2em” header_text_color=”#000000″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]HOWARD RISHER<\/a><\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Serif||on||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”16″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px||60px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]Howard Risher has 40 years of experience as a consultant and HR executive with clients in every sector.\u00a0He has published frequently in HR journals and websites.\u00a0 He is the author or co-author of six book and a growing list of ebooks. The most recent is\u00a0Building the Workforce Government Needs.\u00a0\u00a0He is associated with Grahall Consulting Partners.<\/i>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.5em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”720px” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Reports of the mounting job vacancies in healthcare have unfortunately \u2013 but not surprisingly \u2013 been narrowly focused on types of employers (e.g., home care, hospitals).\u00a0 That\u2019s because healthcare as an \u201cindustry\u201d is fragmented, and realistically too large and diverse for reporters to do more than focus on one of its components.\u00a0 But healthcare is too important, the vacancies are likely to impact the lives of every family\u2019s loved ones at some point.\u00a0 This is a field where AI systems are not expected to replace humans so rebuilding the workforce is the best path to improve healthcare.<\/p>\n

This column was prompted by President Biden\u2019s proposal to establish new staffing requirements for nursing homes. The care these entities currently provide was described by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra as \u201cthe wild, wild west when it comes to quality and accountability.\u201d It was reported \u201cthree quarters of the country\u2019s [roughly 15,600] long-term care facilities would have to hire additional staff.\u201d \u00a0Posted reactions included comments that the requirements would force many nursing facilities to close down. The comments were largely silent on a core question — How the proposed requirement would be met when there is already a severe shortage of healthcare workers in the U.S. and the world?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Worker shortages were a recognized problem in healthcare more than a decade ago but the COVID crisis made it a \u201cnational crisis.\u201d \u00a0There is solid evidence vacancies are undermining healthcare quality in every phase of care.\u00a0 Inadequate staffing delays necessary treatments, increases costs, and contributes to poor patient outcomes.\u00a0 Increased costs force low income families to delay treatments.\u00a0 Going forward, the country\u2019s aging population will increase the need for healthcare services while the shortages are projected to get worse.\u00a0 Delays will be costly.<\/p>\n

A Snapshot of the Healthcare Workforce<\/h4>\n

Nursing homes are known to have serious problems \u2013 \u201c. . . nurses, aides, and other\u00a0staff are reluctant to work<\/a>\u00a0for them;\u00a0hundreds of facilities are shutting<\/a>\u00a0. . . \u00a0because they can\u2019t staff them.\u201d\u00a0 Statistics on the post-COVID workforce are not available but earlier numbers show there were 1.7 million workers. That\u2019s a small percentage of the 22 million healthcare workforce (according to the Census).<\/p>\n

According to the American Hospital Association, there are 6,129 hospitals including 206 operated by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and 944 state and local government community hospitals.\u00a0 The total of for-profit hospitals is 1,235.\u00a0 Most are \u201cshort term acute care\u201d facilities.\u00a0 Additionally, there are children\u2019s hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals and psychiatric hospitals. In rural areas, there are 1,300 smaller Critical Care Access hospitals, a program created in 1997 in response to closures in areas where no hospitals exist.\u00a0 In 2022 hospitals employed 7.3 million workers (the pre-COVID total was higher).<\/p>\n

The growth in the healthcare sector has been in home care since many elderly prefer to remain in their homes where caregivers help with daily tasks. From 2008 to 2019 home care employment grew from 840,000 to more than 1.4 million.\u00a0 They provided care services for a growing number of Medicaid-covered patients seeking home care, more than 3.2 million in 2019. The number of Medicaid home health agencies grew steadily from the 1960s, reaching a peak in 2013. \u00a0Since then, the number of agencies has been declining, causing a drop in the availability of home care workers.\u00a0 In 2021 it\u2019s estimated 46,000 companies were providing home care services although the total has very likely dropped.<\/p>\n

In addition, there are countless medical service providers (e.g., physician\u2019s offices, surgery centers, urgent care centers, etc.) based along streets in cities and suburbs.\u00a0 Many are operated by hospital systems but there are also thousands of private employers. Their employees come from a number of specialties, including over 200,000 nurses.<\/p>\n

Often forgotten in discussions of healthcare is the importance of the thousands of specialists working in public health agencies.\u00a0 Those workers have been struggling since early 2020 to respond to the problems triggered by the COVID crisis.\u00a0 The workforce includes a mix of specialists from nutritionists to addiction treatment specialists to public health nurses and many more.\u00a0 The current total has not been reported although a Harvard study reported, \u201cNearly half of all employees in state and local public health agencies . . . left their jobs between 2017 and 2021, and . . . more than 100,000 public health staff could leave their jobs by 2025.\u201d \u00a0According to BLS data, there were approximately 728,600 social workers in 2022 but not all work in public health.<\/p>\n

A thread that ties this together is that the overall workforce is huge and focused on providing personal care — 22 million worked in the \u201cindustry\u201d in 2019. That is roughly 25 percent larger than the next largest, retail trade. The total includes 9.8 million workers employed as \u2018health care technicians and practitioners\u2019 (i.e., trained specialists). The staggering number confirming the industry\u2019s fragmentation is the 947,000 \u2018establishments\u2019 in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector.\u00a0 Only 3 percent have 100 or more employees \u2013 so across the country, the industry is dominated by thousands of small employers.<\/p>\n

Supply is the Problem<\/h4>\n

There have been countless columns highlighting the vacancies in healthcare. \u00a0A search on the phrase \u201chealthcare worker shortages\u201d produced 7.2 million hits.\u00a0 Articles like \u201cStaff Shortages Choking U.S. Health Care System<\/a>\u201d and \u201cConcern grows around US health-care workforce shortage\u201d call attention to the numbers but do not offer solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recently it was reported job vacancies in healthcare attracted the second lowest applications \u2013 4.7 per opening \u2013 of all industries.\u00a0 Only retail is lower.\u00a0 Two other industries with serious vacancy problems \u2013 education and government \u2013 are significantly higher \u2013 18 and 16 applications for each opening.\u00a0 That\u2019s a key to the supply problem.<\/p>\n

Digging deeper and looking at articles from years back makes it clear staff shortages have existed for years.\u00a0 ChatGPT found a report on a shortage of nurses in the 1930s, \u201cReports of a nurse shortage began to emerge in the mid-1930s, despite the country still grappling with the aftermath of the Great Depression. By 1936, many hospitals were already facing severe shortages of nurses.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key point from that old report highlights an often overlooked aspect of the problem \u2013 when local newspapers and TV stations were a primary source of news, their reports focused on local hospital staffing problems.\u00a0 And that continues to define the problem — job vacancies are specific to an employer and it\u2019s that employer\u2019s problem to solve.\u00a0 Hospitals along with all health care \u201cestablishments,\u201d to use the Census word, compete to fill jobs with specific hiring specifications in local labor markets.<\/p>\n

In the Philadelphia area, to illustrate the point, there are 16 short-term acute care hospitals, three children\u2019s hospitals, etc.\u00a0 Each hospital, plus the other health care providers, are competing for nurses who reside within a reasonable commute of a facility\u2019s location.\u00a0 BLS reports show 69,000 Registered Nurses work in the area.\u00a0 The \u201csupply\u201d also includes retired and \u2018drop-out\u2019 nurses along with costly contract nurses.\u00a0 Until new nurses graduate or additional nurses relocate to the area, the supply is effectively fixed.\u00a0 Hospitals that are successful in hiring nurses are \u2018pirating\u2019 them away from other healthcare providers.<\/p>\n

The average salary for RNs in the Philadelphia area is $87,830.\u00a0 In the New York area BLS data shows 182,000 nurses and an average $104,860 average salary.\u00a0 \u00a0In the Washington DC area, there are 44,000 nurses and the average salary is $92,800.\u00a0 In contrast, in southeast Mississippi the average salary is $61,890.\u00a0 There are as many as 100 salary surveys each year reporting pay data for local healthcare jobs.<\/p>\n

The data from areas like southeastern Mississippi are important.\u00a0 There are only eight hospitals in the lower half of the state.\u00a0 That pattern is unfortunately common.\u00a0 BLS reports there are 44,000 RNs in the state.\u00a0 Rural areas generally have fewer healthcare specialists.\u00a0 Many counties with no resident physicians.\u00a0 The 46 million citizens who live in rural areas tend to be older and have lower incomes.\u00a0 They are also less likely to have health insurance.\u00a0 It\u2019s a nationwide reality.<\/p>\n

Each healthcare provider\u2019s staffing problem is effectively defined by the supply of candidates, competing care providers in the area, commuting patterns and barriers to commuting (e.g., rivers). \u00a0An employer\u2019s financial situation is of course an additional factor and many care providers have financial problems.<\/p>\n

Two demographic trends complicate the supply problem.\u00a0 Large numbers of Boomers are approaching the age of retirement.\u00a0 The second is the trend toward later marriages and smaller families that began half a century ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s resulted in fewer young people starting careers.\u00a0 The cohort ages 20-24 is smaller than the 25-29 group, and that pattern holds for younger groups.\u00a0 The problem is compounded in healthcare by the many vacancies that require prior education and training.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_margin=”-641px|||||” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” make_fullwidth=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2-2.jpeg” title_text=”Unrecognizable,Business,Manager,Balancing,Rising,Cost,Of,Health,Care,Against” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”-1px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#efefe9″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/3-2.jpeg” alt=”video presentation” title_text=”Onboarding,Employee,Welcome,Medical,Concept.,Onboard,Medicine,Career,New,Job.” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#818178″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”5.7%|10%||10%||” custom_margin_tablet=”|10%||10%” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

State and local leaders are in the best position to assess the need for healthcare services, currently and based on population trends into the future.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#888888″ text_font_size=”12″ text_letter_spacing=”2px” text_line_height=”1.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||20%|” custom_margin_tablet=”20px|||” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]HOWARD RISHER[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”19px||0px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

VA Hospitals Highlight the Staffing Reality<\/h4>\n

Recently reported staffing problems in VA hospitals highlight the locality differences.\u00a0 The Department of Veterans Affairs operates providing care at\u00a01,321 health care facilities,<\/a>\u00a0including 172 VA Medical Centers and\u00a01,138 outpatient\u00a0sites. \u00a0They are located in urban and nonurban areas in every state, often close to acute care hospitals.\u00a0 Across these facilities there are over 3,000 roles with \u201csevere occupational shortages.\u201d\u00a0 That was a 19 percent increase from 2022.\u00a0 That followed a 22 percent jump from 2021.<\/p>\n

The Department\u2019s record confirms this problem is not limited to nurses. \u00a0Medical officer openings were reported by 88 percent of facilities, nurse vacancies were reported by 92 percent.\u00a0 Practical nurse vacancies were also frequently reported.<\/p>\n

Other clinical occupations with frequent severe occupations include psychologist, psychiatrists and social workers.\u00a0 Among the non-clinical jobs frequently reported as difficult to fill are food service workers and guard.\u00a0 The VA had \u201c25 occupations with severe shortages in at least 20 percent of its facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the VA Medical Center in Palo Alto had the worst vacancy problem, where 114 different occupations were experiencing severe shortages.\u00a0 The area has the highest health care salaries in the country.\u00a0 The average nurse earns $164,760.<\/p>\n

Solving the Problem Will Not Be Easy<\/h4>\n

The vacancy problem is dynamic; Boomers will continue to retire and workers will quit. As this was drafted, the Wall Street Journal p<\/em>osted an article, \u201cWhy America Has a Long-term Labor Crisis\u201d focused on the demographic trends and smaller families.\u00a0 The same day McKinsey\u2019s column, \u201cLeading Off,\u201d discussed employee engagement and burnout.\u00a0 Focusing on current job openings fails to consider the long-term consequences of ignoring the reasons for employee turnover.<\/p>\n

Going forward, if the day-to-day work experience and specifically the reasons for burnout and \u2018quiet quitting\u2019 are not addressed, resignations \u2013and vacancies \u2013 are likely to increase.\u00a0 The cost of replacing an employee is high \u2013 it includes the time of everyone involved, possible fees to placement firms and\/or the added cost to bring in a contract employee, the heightened possibility that the stress will prompt additional employees to quit, and most important it could delay necessary medical treatments. \u00a0Already patients are sometimes forced to wait weeks and months to see a specialist.<\/p>\n

In the healthcare and social assistance sector, the annual \u201cseparations\u201d averaged less than 500,000 in the years after the 2008-9 recession, rose to 550,000 in 2019, and at the peak in early 2022 the total was 1.98 million \u2013 four times the level a decade earlier. In the most recent month 749,000 left their jobs and 830,000 were hired but the vacancies remain high, 1.6 million.\u00a0 That is higher than any other industry.<\/p>\n

Those vacancies can be filled by hires from three groups \u2013 young workers starting careers who have the necessary credentials (support jobs may not have education requirements), immigrants trained in other countries, or retirees or drop-outs who decide to restart their healthcare careers.<\/p>\n

In the past immigrants have played a prominent role.\u00a0 In 2021, 2.8 million immigrants were working in healthcare. It remains an important option, but other developed countries are also experiencing serious shortages and competing for the best talent.\u00a0 Clearly there are politicians who oppose increasing the number of immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Young job seekers will always be an important source but it was reported in 2019 that 80,000 applicants were denied admission to nursing programs due to \u201clack of capacity\u201d. \u00a0It\u2019s very likely the problem mushroomed in the pandemic. The problem is linked to salaries too low to attract faculty, inadequate classroom space, and too few clinical mentors.\u00a0 More than nurses, of course, need training. The solution starts with developing an understanding of the needed educational programs and a plan to provide funding.<\/p>\n

Workers who retired or quit represent the largest pool of talent.\u00a0 Many thousands were forced out before they planned.\u00a0 The numbers are large but unknown.\u00a0 A common thread is their shared commitment to health care.\u00a0 Surveys show many could be induced to \u2018unretire.\u2019\u00a0 Pay is an issue but often more important is scheduling flexibility and steps to reduce stress and age discrimination.\u00a0 Significantly, giving workers a reason not to quit will help avoid added costs and future shortages.\u00a0 Relying on regular employee meetings to discuss work management concerns is a key.\u00a0 That\u2019s consistent with the Magnet hospital strategy.<\/p>\n

The Crisis Is Real<\/h4>\n

The word \u2018crisis\u2019 has been used in statements by several healthcare leaders and experts.\u00a0 One notable statement was from the President and CEO of the American Hospital Association, Rick Pollack in the January 27, 2022, New York Times<\/em>, \u201cHospital Workforce Shortage Crisis Demands Immediate Action\u201d. He argued, \u201cOur workforce challenges are a national emergency that demand immediate attention from all levels of government and workable solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In July 2021, Robert Shmerling, MD, the senior faculty editor of Harvard Medical School\u2019s website posted, \u201cIs our healthcare system broken?\u201d\u00a0 He presented 10 arguments that \u201cour system needs a major overhaul.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201csystem\u201d may not be broken but it is clear all citizens do not have access to the care their families need. In a U.S. News listing of the best hospitals in the world, the U.S. has the four top best spots, starting with the Mayo Clinic, and 15 of the top 50, but when the U.S. healthcare system is compared with 12 other high-income countries, the U.S. is dead last on all of the rankings related to care families need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  • On healthcare spending as a percent of GDP, the U.S. at 17.8 percent is 40 percent higher than the next highest Germany 12.8 percent. Canada spent 11.7 percent of GDP and has better health care.<\/li>\n
  • The U.S. is the only high-income country that does not guarantee health coverage. In 2021, 8.6 percent of the U.S. population was uninsured.\u00a0 That was almost 29 million with no insurance.<\/li>\n
  • Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is the lowest in this group of countries at 76. In Canada, its 82; in Switzerland it\u2019s 84; in Korea it\u2019s 83.<\/li>\n
  • The U.S. rate of avoidable deaths per 100,000 population in 2020 was 336; none of the other countries had more than 200.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    When the countries are ranked on treatment of specific health conditions, the results are the same \u2013 the U.S. comes in last.<\/p>\n

    While the data confirm the failures of the \u2018U.S. healthcare system,\u2019 it\u2019s important to emphasize that we do not a have a true \u201csystem.\u201d\u00a0 The many thousands of fragmented providers are competing for \u201cbusiness\u201d and frequently offer duplicated services.\u00a0 A positive is the strategies of major hospital systems to acquire and upgrade local facilities to attract new patients and expand their services.\u00a0 Consolidations in other segments of the \u2018industry\u2019 would help to simplify the management problems.\u00a0 It should reduce administrative costs, but it would not solve the vacancy problem.<\/p>\n

    State and local leaders are in the best position to assess the need for healthcare services, currently and based on population trends into the future. That would provide the basis for agreeing on regional and local workforce staffing and development plans. \u00a0A key — the plans need a commitment for adequate funding.<\/p>\n

    The President\u2019s nursing home proposal is fully warranted but the country needs a broader commitment to rebuilding all segments of its healthcare workforce.\u00a0 A \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d national health system is not feasible, but state and local public leaders can work with local care providers to prepare for tomorrow\u2019s health needs. \u00a0Tackling the workforce crisis is an essential step.<\/p>\n

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    State and local leaders are in the best position to assess the need for healthcare services, currently and based on population trends into the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3346,"featured_media":45551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-45550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-gov","tag-government-trends"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Healthcare Workforce Crisis Should Be a National Priority - Careers in Government<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"State and local leaders are in the best position to assess the need for healthcare services, currently and based on population trends into the future.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Healthcare Workforce Crisis Should Be a National Priority - 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