Wisconsin Could Shore Up Health Care Workforce by Expanding Medicaid

Thursday, August 22nd, 2024 -- 9:00 AM

(Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin could shore up its health care workforce by expanding Medicaid, reducing barriers to training and incentivizing working in underserved communities, according to a new state report.

According to Joe Schulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, this week, the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce released its final report, which includes a list of 10 broad policy recommendations and 26 related action items aimed at addressing labor shortages in the healthcare industry.

Hospitals and health systems have been combating workforce shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2024 report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association found that staffing vacancy rates between September 2021 and September 2022 were roughly 10 percent.

That’s up from 5.3 percent in 2020. On a call with reporters Monday, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former nurse who chaired the task force, said Wisconsin is expected to be short roughly 20,000 nurses by 2040.

She said other positions like licensed practical nurses, surgical techs and other support roles are also expected to face shortages. “COVID really did exacerbate the problem,” she said. “People were retiring and burning out at higher rates than they were before.”

In January, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order creating a task force to study the obstacles facing Wisconsin’s health care system and identify ways to improve patient care and address workforce shortages. Some of the report’s recommendations could be included in Evers’ next biennial state budget proposal.

The 25-member task force included state agency leaders, nurses, certified nursing assistants, pharmacists, dentists, mental health providers, hospital leaders, academic leaders and independent physicians.

“What I really feel was well done with this task force was the representation from all different parts of health care,” said Dr. Wendy Molaska, past president of the Wisconsin Medical Society who owns her own clinic in Fitchburg. “I think (that) was really important to understanding the healthcare workforce issues because it’s all related and intertwined.”

The policy proposals in the report center around improving access to education, expanding hands-on training opportunities, supporting the health care workforce and boosting funding to providers.

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