“It’s a simple fact: Access to coverage does not equal access to care. Ask the many Iowans who already have trouble finding and keeping a health-care professional,” writes John Hale, the policy director for the Iowa CareGivers Association, in the July 14 Des Moines Register.
In “Health Care Won’t Improve Without Enough Workers,” Hale says Iowa is ahead of most states in documenting and addressing the growing health care worker shortage. However, he argues, the state can’t fix the problem on its own: The federal government needs to help.
Hale’s editorial lists several things the federal government can do. The most important, he says, to “give this looming crisis the sense of urgency it deserves and provide funds to the states to allow them to act.” The health care reform bills currently being considered in Congress, he adds, provide “an opportunity to deal proactively with the health- and long-term-care work force that each of us depends on.”
Elise Nakhnikian
Communications Director
Direct Care Alliance
