OPINION — America has a shortage of healthcare workers, and patients are paying the price. Many communities, especially in rural areas, do not have enough doctors, registered nurses and advanced-practice registered nurses to meet basic healthcare needs.
Providers cluster in urban markets while rural communities are left with too few options. Interstate licensure compacts can help fix that.
By making it easier for qualified clinicians to practice across state lines, especially through telemedicine, compacts bring care to patients instead of pretending thousands of providers will suddenly pick up and move. Interstate medical-licensure compacts are a cost-reducing, competition-enhancing reform that can expand supply and improve access without spending another taxpayer dollar.
