How healthcare workers are feeling now

For the poll, Morning Consult surveyed 1,006 U.S. healthcare workers between May 5 and May 18 about how they felt about their jobs and other aspects of healthcare.

Overall, 58% of healthcare workers said they are optimistic about the future of the industry while 37% said they were pessimistic. In addition, 61% of healthcare workers said they've mostly been able to cope with stressors at work while 33% said they've struggled to cope.

Although more workers said they've been able to cope with stress at work, equal amounts of workers (42%) said they were either "energized" or "defeated" by work over the last six months. Notably, of those who said they felt defeated by work, nearly half (48%) have had to deal with staffing shortages.   

The pandemic "put issues in the health care system in the spotlight. We heard a lot about hospital staffing shortages," said Ricky Zipp, a senior analyst at Morning Consult who covers health. "I don't know that before that a lot of everyday people were thinking in those terms about it."

"[Health care workers] were optimistic that this moment did provide leverage," he said. "There are a lot of challenges ahead, but multiple people I talked to were optimistic something can get done here and while the workers and companies are on opposing sides, there is some understanding that, particularly shortages do need to be addressed because they have such complicated ripple effects."

How the end of the COVID-19 PHE has affected healthcare workers

In May, the United States officially ended its COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and with it, pandemic-era provisions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, telehealth, provider flexibilities, and more.

In the poll, around 60% of healthcare workers said their facilities are prepared to handle the end of the PHE and have enough PPE to deal with a potential increase in COVID-19 cases. Similarly, a little over half said they are prepared to handle a COVID-19 surge or surges of multiple illnesses at the same time. 

"It is going to continue to be a challenge," said Akin Demehin, senior director of quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association. "I wish I could tell you that the variants of COVID-19 will remain fixed over time — I'm sure we're going to see an evolution to that. So, as it comes, I know hospitals will be continually adapting."

In addition, many healthcare workers said their facilities will likely be affected by the end of pandemic-era provisions. Over half of healthcare workers said removing policies expanding Medicare or Medicaid would impact their job, with 30% saying that it would have a major impact.

Other changes that could affect healthcare workers include reduced funding for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, reduced funding to cover COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, insurers no longer being required to cover COVID-19 tests, and insurers no longer being required to cover COVID-19 vaccination from out-of-network providers.

With the PHE officially ended and COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths at mostly low levels, Morning Consult notes that the healthcare industry now has other challenges to focus on, with a top priority for many organizations being workforce shortages.

"The level of urgency to address workforce issues remains as high as it's been at any point," Demehin said, "and most certainly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic." (Reed, Axios, 6/26; Zipp, Morning Consult, 6/26)

Stakeholders across the healthcare industry face immense pressure to sustain and grow their business models while simultaneously navigating an environment of aggressive M&A, workforce constraints, and financial pressure. This chaotic and distracting environment makes it difficult to keep up with what really matters and separate the signal from the noise. In the State of the Healthcare Industry Heading into 2024, we'll illuminate where executives should focus their attention and unpack the biggest shifts already underway that will impact stakeholders’ healthcare strategies.