Health Workforce

In a new analysis of survey data from state Medicaid home care programs, KFF found that in most years since 2016, there have been nearly 700,000 people on waiting or interest lists for expanded home and community-based services (HCBS), with a total of 692,000 across 38 states in 2023 and…

Amid low unemployment and rising demand for services, today’s health care workforce is under pressure from several directions, including worker strikes; shortages of trained staff; and proposed new staffing standards for nurses and aides in nursing facilities. On November 16, a panel of three experts joined Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, for a 45-minute discussion focused on the diverse challenges facing the health care workforce.

In response to long-standing workforce challenges in home- and community-based services, states have reported increasing Medicaid payment rates, providing more education and training or leveraging other strategies to recruit and retain workers.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are frontline workers who have close relationships with the communities they serve, allowing them to better liaise and connect community members to health care systems. States may authorize Medicaid payment for certain CHW services under state plan or Section 1115 demonstration authority. States may allow or require managed care organizations (MCOs) to provide CHW services or include CHWs in care teams. Many states use CHW services to address the health needs of targeted populations including enrollees with chronic conditions or complex behavioral or physical health needs, enrollees receiving targeted case management services, or frequent users of health care services

State Medicaid strategies to address the behavioral health workforce shortage fall into four key areas: increasing rates, reducing burden, extending the workforce, and incentivizing participation.

KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and Guardian US have won the National Press Club’s top award for online journalism for their “Lost on the Frontline” investigation. The year-long project documented the lives of more than 3,600 health care workers in the U.S. who died after contracting covid-19 on the job.…

About 1 in 6 Tested Positive for COVID-19, though Few Experienced Major Symptoms; Those Working in Nursing Homes or Assisted Living Facilities Most Likely to Report Testing Positive More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of frontline health care workers say the crisis is taking a toll…

This partnership survey with The Washington Post examines the experiences and attitudes of frontline health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic that overwhelmed many health care settings. With three COVID-19 vaccines currently being distributed to adults across the country, this project takes a look at the toll of the last year on frontline health care workers, including a look at the impact on their mental health and well being.

As of early March, just over half (52%) of frontline health care workers say they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, leaving 48% who have not, a new KFF/The Washington Post national survey of health care workers finds. Most who work in hospitals (66%) and outpatient…

This post examines the data about workers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and finds that both on-site and at-home workers are facing challenges, though frontline and essential workers, as well as women and workers of color, face disproportionate impacts.