With little time left in the 118th Congress, lawmakers must prioritize bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nursing workforce, protect healthcare workers, and support mental health for the people who provide care every single day
WASHINGTON – As Members of Congress reconvene in Washington this week after the August recess, the Healthcare Workforce Coalition calls on lawmakers to prioritize bipartisan legislation that will protect and strengthen the nation’s healthcare workforce.
The U.S. is facing concurrent crises––including workforce declines in healthcare, increased workplace violence, and heavy workloads––that are having a devastating impact on doctors, nurses, and other critically important healthcare workers that patients rely on for their care. With over 100 million Americans living in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), it is vital for Congress to advance solutions to fill critical gaps in care and protect healthcare workers already in the workforce.
Specifically, the HWC has endorsed three critical bills that aim to address healthcare workforce shortages, enhance safety standards, and enable access to mental health resources for healthcare providers. By providing insight to legislators on how these bills will mitigate current workforce shortages and help bolster professionals across the healthcare sector, the HWC hopes to enlist greater support from Congress to ensure these bills become law this year.
With limited days left in the 118th Congress, the Healthcare Workforce Coalition urges lawmakers to pass three vital pieces of legislation:
- The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act: The bipartisan HWRA (H.R. 6205/S.3211) aims to address the U.S. healthcare workforce crisis by providing 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 for physicians, allowing qualified foreign healthcare professionals to work in the U.S.. The HWRA would help fill critical workforce gaps and mitigate severe shortages in the nation’s healthcare system by creating pathways for qualified foreign healthcare professionals to live and work in the U.S. permanently.
- The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act: With a shocking increase in violence towards healthcare providers, the bipartisan SAVE Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768) aims to protect hospital employees from violence and intimidation in their workplace. The SAVE Act would impose severe penalties on those who assault hospital employees, with fines and imprisonment, while also providing grants to hospitals to enhance security and coordination with law enforcement.
- Reauthorization of the Lorna Breen Act: The bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7153/S. 3679) addresses the mental health crisis among healthcare workers by funding mental health training, peer support, and crisis intervention programs. Since 2022, it has allocated $103 million to reduce burnout and address mental health issues, with reauthorization aiming to expand these grants and reduce administrative burdens for more healthcare settings.
As lawmakers return to work, the Healthcare Workforce Coalition will continue educating them and their staff about these important bills and advocating for solutions that help protect America’s healthcare workforce.