Many staffing agencies have been exploiting the severe shortage of health care personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic by charging uniformly high prices in a manner that suggests widespread coordination and abuse of market position, the AHA and American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living today told White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients.

“The AHA and AHCA/NCAL have each urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate this conduct as a violation of our antitrust or consumer protection laws but we have not yet received any response,” the letter notes. “We ask that you help ensure this matter gets the attention it merits from the federal government.”

Earlier this week, nearly 200 House members also urged the White House to investigate reports that nurse staffing agencies are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their profits at the expense of patients and the hospitals that treat them. 
 

Related News Articles

Headline
Health care executives will share trauma-informed strategies to reduce violence, support staff and foster healing during an AHA webinar Dec…
Headline
The AHA will host the third session of its virtual webinar series on workforce development Nov. 19 at 12:30 p.m. ET. This session will explore how centralized…
Headline
A blog by Michelle Schweitzer, executive director of advanced practice providers at WakeMed Health and Hospitals, and Dawn Mutchko, principal consultant at…
Perspective
Public
Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2008 when he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to treat…
Headline
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday published an announcement from Otsuka ICU Medical saying that the company issued a voluntary recall for a mislabeled…
Headline
A study published Oct. 30 by the American Heart Association found that people have an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke following flu and COVID-19…