There is general agreement that the healthcare system in the U.S. is in crisis, and a recent ruling issued by the Supreme Court could worsen the situation. This particular ruling allowed the federal government to end the TPS (temporary protected status) of noncitizens from particular countries, in this case Syria and Haiti.
Under the TPS law that was passed back in 1990, the government, through Homeland Security, could grant temporary protected status to noncitizens from listed countries if those countries were deemed to be unsafe for their citizens in the U.S. to go back. The grounds for granting this status include natural disasters, wars and other such widespread circumstances that would put the lives of the non-U.S. citizens at risk once they went back.
The current Trump administration has adopted a hardline anti-immigration stance and is not only carrying out mass deportations of illegal immigrants but has also turned its attention to revoking the TPS of people from several countries.
The latest target of this push is Haitians and Syrians. The Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke the TPS of Haitians, and this has lots of people worried about the ramifications upon the healthcare system. Currently, estimates put the number of Haitians with TPS at about 330,000.
A significant proportion of these individuals work in the healthcare system, with thousands hired as nursing aides, nurses and doctors. Elderly care facilities like nursing homes largely depend on immigrant workers who are willing to work long hours for pay that isn’t so great in the eyes of citizens.
Given that the healthcare system has for long been plagued by staff shortages, the decision to end the TPS for noncitizens hailing from a growing list of countries that previously enjoyed that status has healthcare system stakeholders worried.
Many hospitals around the country report that they have been compelled to reduce the available number of beds within their facilities because they are unable to get the staff needed to care for patients. Estimates suggest that approximately 21,000 Haitians with TPS currently work as caregivers and nursing assistants. Losing this many workers would be catastrophic for many facilities.
As TPS holders lose their status and are deported, healthcare facilities are likely to be compelled to increase their wage bill in order to attract and retain employees. These cost increases could naturally end up being passed on to patients, thereby causing the skyrocketing cost of medical care to rise even further.
Stakeholders like Astiva Health are likely to be monitoring this situation closely since California is estimated to have about 60,000 TPS holders from different countries, including Haiti.
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