Members of the GOP Doctors Caucus introduced the Travel Nursing Agency Transparency Study Act (H.R. 8576), on July 28. The bill is a House companion to a S. 4352, introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND). If enacted, it would require the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study and report to Congress, within one year, on the business practices and the impact of hiring “travel” nurse agencies across the healthcare field during the COVID-19 pandemic. LeadingAge supports the Travel Nursing Agency Transparency Study Act.

Earlier this year, LeadingAge and several long-term care and health care organizations sent a joint letter to the White House COVID-19 Response Team coordinator requesting the federal government to look into exorbitant nurse staffing agency rates that came into practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to address this problem, LeadingAge wrote a letter to the Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in October 2021, to urge them to investigate nurse staffing agencies’ conduct as a violation of our antitrust or consumer protection laws. Additionally, LeadingAge has been tracking state-level legislation that addresses nurse staffing agencies price gouging. Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, Oregon and Tennessee have formally passed legislation regulating the staffing agencies. You can access the tracker here. You can access an article regarding the Travel Nursing Agency Transparency Study Act here.

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Rachel Monger, JD, LACHA is President/CEO. Rachel spent her first 12 years at LeadingAge Kansas as a powerhouse advocate and leading voice for our membership and for the aging services field. Now, as President and CEO, she is committed to maintaining a laser focus on advocacy efforts and investing more resources toward ensuring members remain leaders in aging services. Rachel received a bachelor's degree at Bard College at Simon's Rock in Massachusetts and her Juris Doctorate at the University of Kansas School of Law. When asked why she works at LeadingAge Kansas, Rachel replied, “I believe strongly in the mission of LeadingAge Kansas, and I am humbled every day knowing so many truly special people allow us to be their voice in Topeka and beyond.” You can reach Rachel directly at 785.670.8046.