Can flexible interstate licensing help solve the health care worker need?

Can flexible interstate licensing help solve the health care worker need??

While the U.S. had a pre-existing health care worker crisis, the pandemic exacerbated existing gaps in the system, requiring hospitals to find quick solutions.??

As the virus migrated across the country, stressing the already taxed ranks of health care workers, one solution that helped fill in crucial nursing gaps was relaxing nurse licensing laws to allow out-of-state nurses to practice in other states. Redistributing available nurses to areas where they were most needed cut through red tape to save lives.??

Some legislators such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota see the benefit of making this change permanent while Gov. Phil Scott recently signed a law letting out-of-state medical providers offer telemedicine services for Vermont patients. With the increasing use of telemedicine, the idea of limiting nursing licenses to a single state imposes a strict limit on its scope. Telemedicine plays a particularly vital role in providing health services to rural areas where staffing is limited and being able to redistribute staff from other states when needed will be key to its success.??

While the peak of the COVID crisis has likely passed, the health care worker crisis remains in full force. With more than 100,000 RNs leaving their jobs since 2021, the need to fill in nursing gaps is just as pressing an issue as ever. Almost a year ago, the American Nurses Association sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging them to declare the nurse staffing shortage a national crisis that extended beyond the pandemic. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics warns that through 2030, there will be nearly 195,000 vacancies for registered nurses each year.?

To quote an article published by the National Institute of Health, “The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that nurses must be able to swiftly and flexibly cross state lines for work. Yet, the lack of multistate licensure for advanced practice registered nurses…has impeded mobilization of the nursing workforce.”?

Allowing nurses to practice out-of-state saved lives during the pandemic and can save lives today. How do we support legislators to carry the motion forward and make this a permanent solution to a pressing health care worker need?