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Rep. Jim McGovern warns federal cuts and TPS changes threaten health-care workers
Summary
Speaking at Worcester State, Rep. Jim McGovern said federal policy decisions have weakened coverage and the workforce, cited large Medicaid cuts and losses of coverage, and warned that ending TPS for Haiti could harm about 1,500 nursing-facility workers.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern told a Worcester State audience that federal policy choices are affecting both coverage and the state's health-care workforce.
"I believe health care is a human right," McGovern said, and he criticized recent federal actions that he said have cut Medicaid and allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire. McGovern asserted that "over 8,000,000 Americans have already lost coverage" and said hospitals are overburdened and understaffed as a result.
McGovern also linked immigration policy to staffing shortages: "Immigrants make up 70% of the health care workforce here in Massachusetts," he said, and he warned that about "1,500 individuals working in nursing care facilities" would be harmed if Temporary Protected Status for Haiti were terminated. He urged continued federal and state efforts to invest in nursing programs and protect coverage.
McGovern framed his remarks as both praise for state investments and a call for federal action to restore and improve coverage and workforce protections.
