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Bill Introduced to Study Effects of Price Gouging on Providers During Pandemic

Last week a proposed bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for a study of how healthcare providers have been affected by price gouging by temporary staffing agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Travel Nursing Agency Transparency Study Act would require the U.S Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on potential price gouging and boost transparency regarding nursing agency payouts from healthcare institutions.
A spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living noted that they support the legislation and that it is “time to shine a light on these travel nurse agencies.”

“Nursing homes and assisted living communities are facing a historic workforce shortage, forcing many to turn to temporary staffing agencies in order to ensure residents have enough caregivers,” AHCA / NCAL said. “However, any of these agencies are charging two to three times more than pre-pandemic rates, depleting precious resources from long-term care facilities when we would prefer to invest in full-time, dedicated caregivers.”

Read the full article in McKnight's Senior Living here.

Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org