Connecticut Nursing Rate Bill Likely to be Introduced Again in 2006

Connecticut Nursing Rate Bill Likely to be Introduced Again in 2006

Convinced that nursing pools are increasing state costs, Connecticut legislators are expected to introduce a bill shortly that will establish a rate approval process for nursing pools.

Those keeping track of the potential legislation expect that it will be similar to a bill introduced last year that would have required health care staffing firms to submit rates for RNs, LPNs and nurses’ aides for state review so that a state agency could determine if the rates were excessive.

Some state legislators, however, are eyeing the legislation warily, with Rep. Peggy Sayers, co-chairman of the Public Health Committee and a nurse herself, opposing the legislation. The general concern of the staffing industry, and especially those firms operating in Connecticut, is that the bill will introduce an unnatural cap on nurses’ wages. For a state and nation already facing an extreme nursing shortage, the legislation would appear to be counterintuitive or, at the least, not in keeping with the goal of improved healthcare at both the local and national levels.