Trump immigration policy exacerbates health care workforce shortages
Health care providers are calling on the Trump administration to reverse changes to immigration policy that have compounded New York's workforce shortages in long-term care, according to the state Association of Health Care Providers.
The association is urging the Department of Homeland Security to roll back the termination of categorical parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, as well as the partial rollback of temporary protected status or TPS extension and the termination of TPS status for Venezuelans.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced sweeping cuts to temporary protections for immigrants, including the 76,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans on TPS. Immigrants without another type of immigration status will be at risk of deportation come September.
'The home care sector is already struggling with a workforce shortage, and the removal of potentially tens of thousands of legally authorized workers will only deepen the crisis and put essential services out of reach for those who need them most,' Laura Ehrich, HCP's vice president of public policy, said in a statement.
In a survey conducted among HCP's membership, licensed home care agencies across the state reported that more than 75 percent of their workforce consists of immigrants who are authorized to work. Nearly half of the agencies that responded to the survey said they have lost staff due to the changes in immigration policy.
In addition, more than half of the respondents said they are struggling to fill shifts, and 25 percent said they are having trouble recruiting new staff.
In New York City, health care workers — especially ones in support roles, such as home care and personal care aides — are more likely to be foreign-born than all other kinds of workers, according to a January report by the Center for Migration Studies.
The vast majority are naturalized or legal noncitizens, the report found based on 2022 data.
Ehrich noted that, with the state's growing population of older adults, the long-term care industry cannot afford to lose workers.
'These changes are short-sighted, harmful and must be reversed,' Ehrich said.
The group is also calling on the federal government to find permanent immigration solutions for workers in the industry to stay in the country.
IN OTHER NEWS:
— AIM Independent Living Center was awarded $2 million from the state Office of Mental Health to improve the mental health of farmers and agribusiness workers and their families.
AIM will receive the funding over five years for statewide implementation of the Farmers Supporting Farmers program, which provides free, confidential consultation services to approximately 1,000 New Yorkers.
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Odds and Ends
NOW WE KNOW — The fear of losing Medicaid coverage has some parents rushing to vaccinate their children.
TODAY'S TIP — Experts share advice on assessing your risk of Lyme Disease.
STUDY THIS — Via STAT: Lilly's Alzheimer treatment was endorsed by European regulators, the drug was shown to slow patients' decline, but comes with side effect concerns.
WHAT WE'RE READING
— Trump voters wanted relief from medical bills. For millions, the bills are about to get bigger. (KFF Health News)
— States, cities face loss of vaccination programs and staff after baffling cuts to federal funding. (CNN)
— An unusual FDA panel on antidepressant use during pregnancy elevated skeptics of the drugs. (STAT)
Around POLITICO
— Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds, Katherine Tully-McManus reports.
— FDA commissioner says he has no 'preconceived plans' on policy changes for abortion drug, Nicole Markus reports.
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