Hearing Recap: "On Call for America: Strengthening Access Through Locum Tenens Providers"

Today, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing to examine the importance of locum tenens providers in the health care industry.

Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) started the hearing by explaining how locum tenens providers help address health care shortages, especially in rural communities. 

“The positions these providers often fill can be difficult to staff on a permanent basis. It takes an average of 189 days to recruit a primary care position and 226 days for a specialist. While locum tenens providers are critical in rural communities, their services are not limited to rural America. Some 88 percent of health care organizations utilize locum tenens providers to help meet patient needs,” he explained.

Witnesses emphasized how Congress should not put red tape between patients and care. Protecting the independent contractor workforce model is essential to keeping doctors where they are needed most and ensuring patients can get timely care.  

“If laws restrict the ability of highly skilled clinicians to supply temporary labor, the likely result may not be more permanent W-2 jobs. It may be fewer available clinician hours, earlier retirements, unfilled shifts, and reduced access to care,” said Dr. Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

It is critical we protect the flexibility that keeps providers working and patients connected to care. 

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) highlighted how many clinicians choose locum tenens work because it offers them greater control over their schedules and careers. That flexibility helps to bring more health care providers to the patients and communities that need them.  

Ms. Autumn Begay, Senior Corporate Counsel at CHG Healthcare told the story of a doctor who had to take a sabbatical due to her stepfather having health issues.

“When she came back from that sabbatical…she found that locum tenens was the perfect fit for her to continue to practice [while honoring commitments to her family],” she said.

The Democrat-invited witness refused to acknowledge that nursing shortages exist and continued to discuss how nurses are “forced” into independent contractor roles.

“It’s not my understanding that there is a shortage of able, trained nurses in the U.S. It is my understanding that there is a shortage of jobs that nurses are willing to take,” said Dr. Katie Wells, Senior Fellow for AI and Healthcare at AI Now Institute.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that 189,100 openings for registered nurses are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Data also shows that there are significant health care shortages nationwide.

Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) discussed with witnesses how locum tenens professionals help patients access care closer to home while providing flexibility for the clinician.

“The best example are these situations where a female doctor is on maternity leave…and she has patients who need to see her…you find someone to come in [temporarily]...locum tenens doctors can fill that role and that means that the small children in that community don’t have to miss out on care because their pediatrician decided to have a family,” said Mr. Jonathon Wolfson, Visiting Fellow at Institute for the American Worker (14AW).

Bottom Line: Locum tenens providers are an important part of the solution to America's health care workforce shortages. Preserving flexible work arrangements can help expand access to care, strengthen rural health systems, and ensure patients receive timely treatment when they need it.