This week, nearly 200 members of the House of Representatives – both Democrats and Republicans – co-signed a letter to the Biden Administration seeking additional scrutiny of staffing agencies during the pandemic to determine if agencies are participating in anticompetitive activity and/or violating consumer protection laws.

See the letter here.

Wisconsin is represented among the co-signers, with Democratic Rep. Ron Kind (D-3rd CD) and Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-6th CD) attaching their signatures.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) led this bipartisan effort. From the letter:

The situation is urgent and the reliance on temporary workers has caused normal staffing costs to balloon
in all areas of the country. We have received reports that the nurse staffing agencies are vastly inflating
price, by two, three or more times pre-pandemic rates, and then taking 40% or more of the amount being
charged to the hospitals for themselves in profits. We have heard the amounts charged to hospitals rose
precipitously as the newest wave of the COVID-19 crisis swept the nation and the agencies seemingly
seized the opportunity to increase their bottom line…

Thank you for your attention to the matter, these costs are simply unsustainable for many health systems
across the country. We urge you to ensure that this issue gets the attention from the federal government it
merits to protect patients in dire need of life-saving health care treatment and prevent conduct that is
exacerbating the shortage of nurses and straining the health care system. We look forward to your
response.

AHCA/NCAL is working with the American Hospital Association (AHA) on this issue, and more to come on this partnership in the near future.