Protecting the Pipeline: How a Public Option Could Impact Our Nation’s Health Care Workers

While campaigning for the presidency in 2019, President Joe Biden pledged to offer Americans a public option – a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private plans in the marketplace.² FTI Consulting analyzed this proposal to determine the impact a national public option could have on our nation’s health care workforce and patients’ access to care. Our analysis finds that government rate setting under a public option may exacerbate health care workforce shortages. The additional workforce reductions predicted under a public option could lower staffing levels across physician specialties, including primary care, and for the nursing workforce, worsening patient access challenges, particularly in underserved communities. In addition, our analysis suggests that a public option could widen existing workforce disparities between urban and rural communities. Ultimately, a public option could exacerbate health care labor shortages nationwide, all while the workforce is still reeling from the immense demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Footnotes:

2: “The Biden Plan to Protect & Build on The Affordable Care Act.” Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, October 11, 2020. https://joebiden.com/healthcare/.