On October 22, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released Health Care Workforce: Key Issues, Challenges, and the Path Forward, a report examining the current state of  several sectors of the health care workforce, including  physicians, nurses, behavioral health and direct care workers (DCW). The report outlines opportunities to address challenges facing the sector and highlights initiatives supported by HHS to address these issues. It also provides an overview of the supply and distribution of key segments within the health care workforce, highlights the needs of rural communities, and describes the pressing need to train, recruit, and retain a more diverse workforce. The report explores issues impacting DCWs who, in the next decade, will become the largest group of workers in the U.S. economy, but whose job classification is plagued by high turnover and low job satisfaction driven by inadequate compensation and unpredictable schedules.

In addition to reviewing various actions taken by HHS to address these challenges, the report also describes multiple policy options, including those proposed in President Biden’s FY 2025 budget, to address these challenges moving forward. LeadingAge continues to advocate for comprehensive policy reforms to strengthen the aging services workforce though pipeline/pathway development leading to increased recruitment and retention, including competitive compensation packages funded through fair reimbursement levels.