White House urged to investigate price gouging by staffing agencies

Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and David McKinley, R- W.Va., yesterday urged the White House to enlist federal agencies to investigate price gouging by nurse staffing agencies. 

“We have received anecdotal reports that the nurse staffing agencies are vastly inflating price, by two, three or more times pre-pandemic rates, and then taking 40% or more of the amount being charged to the hospitals for themselves in profits,” the senators said in a letter to White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients. “We have heard the amounts charged to hospitals rose precipitously when the most recent wave of the COVID-19 crisis swept the nation and the agencies seemingly seized the opportunity to increase their bottom line. But this is not the first time the agencies have engaged in this sort of conduct. … We urge you to ensure that this matter gets the attention from the federal government it merits to protect patients in dire need of life saving health care treatment and prevent conduct that is exacerbating the shortage of nurses and continuing to strain our health care system.”