Hospitals and lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to review federal pandemic-relief programs that they say have distorted pay rates for travel nurses.
Some hospitals are using federal Covid-19 relief funds to cover part of the difference between rates for travel nurses and staff salaries.
Health-industry trade groups and some members of Congress say staffing agencies matching workers with hospitals are capitalizing on a tight labor market, as many nurses have left during the pandemic, often because of burnout and fatigue.
Nurses demonstrated for better pay, more staffing and personal protective equipment in New Rochelle, N.Y., in December 2020.
Photo:
Lev Radin/Zuma Press
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