Immigration seen as a solution to nursing home labor woes

Increased immigration could help solve nursing homes' persistent workforce shortages and improve the quality of care in communal health settings, a new National Bureau of Economic Research paper found. Why it matters: Nursing homes have been hit the hardest by staffing shortages post-pandemic, and the Biden administration could issue a rule on minimum staffing requirements as soon as this spring to address quality issues. Yes, but: The percentage of Americans wanting less immigration has surged since President Biden took office, and a divided Congress isn't likely to liberalize policies. By the numbers: 87% of nursing homes have moderate to high staffing shortages, according to a 2022 survey from the American Health Care Association, which represents the industry. Immigrants make up about 19% of workers in nursing homes, per the NBER paper. Every 10% increase in female immigration would yield 0.7% more nurse assistant hours per nursing home resident and 1.1% more registered nurse hours, researchers projected. Short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents would also decline 0.6%. The details: Immigrant health care workers can work in the U.S. with temporary work (H1-B) visas or employment-based visas (EB-3). Both require the employer to petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before a person applies. H1-B visa workers who were working the "Medicine and Health" field only made up 3.5% of the total number of recipients in 2021, but there have been recent increases. In fiscal 2022, the State Department issued 145% more employment-based immigrant visas for health care workers compared to fiscal-year 2019, per a department spokesperson. For more information, visit us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/index.html.