The Workforce Crisis: How States Are Responding to Shortages in the Health Care Workforce
Shortages in the health care workforce across health professions have reached crisis levels in the past few years, making workforce a top priority for states.
Explore these resources to learn how states are responding to this challenge. To learn more, check out all our resources on the health care workforce.
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Primary Care Providers
The pandemic has exacerbated existing shortages in the primary car workforce. States are seeking to better understand these shortages and implement strategies that address immediate concerns in addition to longer-term solutions to recruit and retain a workforce that can meet the diverse and evolving needs of our nation.
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Community-Based Providers
Community-based providers such as community health workers, doulas, and midwives can help states meet the needs of their communities and bolster their workforce. These resources highlight state strategies to support and reimburse these providers.
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States are using a variety of strategies to identify and reimburse providers and community-based supports for contraceptive counseling and care — including reimbursing community-based providers such as community health workers, certified nurse-midwives, and doulas.
Medicaid coverage of doula and midwifery services has the potential to improve birth outcomes especially for low-income individuals and people of color. The toolkit outlines key Medicaid policy considerations for implementing doula and midwifery services perinatally and postpartum.
Our 50-state tracker provides a snapshot of how states are defining, training, certifying, and paying for the community health worker workforce — as well as how states are developing cross-agency and state-to-local strategies to improve community health in partnership with community health workers.
Explore how states can use state plan amendments to shape Medicaid benefits to address enrollee needs and reimburse for community health worker services as part of a sustainable financing approach.
Find out how states are expanding opportunities for peers — non-licensed individuals with lived mental health or substance use disorder experience — to support components of mental health crisis services.
The Direct Care Workforce
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for home health and personal care aides is expected to grow by nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2029. As there is already a shortage of these workers, new initiatives are needed to meet these needs and prepare for the future. Explore state strategies to strengthen this critical workforce.
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