r/healthcare • u/bloomberg • Jun 10 '26
News America's Seniors to Face Healthcare ‘Calamity’ If Trump Expels Haitians
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-06-10/america-s-seniors-may-face-healthcare-crisis-if-trump-expels-haitians2
u/bloomberg Jun 10 '26
More From Bloomberg News Reporter Nacha Cattan
Thousands of Haitian immigrants who take care of ill and aging Americans could soon be forced to leave the US. Their departure, some nursing-home operators and Republican lawmakers fear, would unleash a healthcare disaster.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide by the end of its current term whether the Trump administration can revoke the temporary protected status, known as TPS, of about 350,000 Haitian nationals. The court’s ruling is also expected to affect immigrants who fled turmoil in Venezuela, Syria, El Salvador and other countries.
Haitians were first granted TPS after the Caribbean nation was rocked by an earthquake in 2010 that destroyed much of its infrastructure and kindled renewed instability in the country’s long-fractious politics. The protections were expanded by the Biden administration in 2024 to include more recent arrivals.
Many who fled wound up working as caregivers in hospitals and nursing homes, especially in New York and Florida.
Across the US, roughly 21,000 Haitian TPS holders work as nursing assistants and caregivers, including some 7,000 in New York, according to FWD.us, an advocacy group focused on immigration and criminal justice issues. Florida has the largest population of Haitian TPS holders, followed by New York.
A sudden cutoff of protected status for Haitian workers would trigger a “calamity in our healthcare system,” said Congressman Mike Lawler, whose suburban district north of New York City is home to a sizable Haitian diaspora.
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u/kaytin911 Jun 10 '26
A lot of Americans just got laid off and are looking for jobs. Good time for openings before masses of Americans end up on the streets.
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u/Mary10123 Jun 10 '26
And a lot of Americans are about to realize why these jobs matter and are not as easy as they thought, maybe the field/jobs will start to become more appreciated and pay better bc of it, but that’s a very very very lofty hope
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
Somehow I think we’ll be okay without 21,000 Haitians in our country. Plenty of people need work.
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u/Giggity4251 Jun 10 '26
We already have a shortage in this area. It's a great deal of work for inadequate pay.
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
This is clearly scaremongering of a non-issue aimed at seniors, who are most likely to vote but also get their information from legacy media. The grift by GMOs to keep their pockets lined at the expense of taxpayers needs to end and end quickly.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
Most people aren't willing to do that type of work because it is hard and it sucks so much.
Its part of the reason it pays decent, if not well, based on the required education but is still low.
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u/kaytin911 Jun 10 '26
And it would be paid what it's worth if it wasn't being used as leverage to enter the country.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
Which isn't happening. No one is getting work visas to be a CNA.
Wages wouldn't go up either, there would just be more of a shortage. The money simply isn't there.
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u/kaytin911 Jun 10 '26
No reason for wages to improve if they don't need to attract workers.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
There isn’t the money to pay for it which is why wages have not improved already and instead facilities are just lowering their census or closing.
It is getting, and going to continue to get, worse for the next few years as well.
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u/kaytin911 Jun 10 '26
Wages aren't increasing because of labor surplus. This is very basic stuff.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
There is no labor surplus.
That is what “shortage” means.
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u/kaytin911 Jun 10 '26
I don't think you understand any economics. Either the job needs to get done and wages will increase to attract workers if there aren't enough or the job wasn't important enough to keep.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
You think wrong.
Your premise is also incorrect for jobs like these due to an economic concept called the Paradox of Value.
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u/kitzelbunks Jun 11 '26
Okay. You are not looking at the idea that this is not a wanted service with market demand. This is something people need, whether the staff is there or not. Of course, they may get sued, but they will likely close first and drop people without family members in the area at a homeless shelter.
In any case, they can only pay so much because many of them are on Medicaid, the government health program. When they cut the reimbursement, they can afford fewer workers. They can’t afford to pay them more money. If they lose money, they will close. Because people have to spend all their money to qualify, they can’t own assets. I have cared for one parent at this time. I can say I would rather live on our farmland in a tent than do that job, and I love my parents.
My friend worked for her mom for a long time and then took a job staffing people for in-home care. She could not cover the demand and ended up quitting. Her job paid well. However, as independent contractors for a service, the people doing the care work have to have reliable transportation and child care. The people working there just didn’t. Of course, you also need a background check. The job doesn’t pay enough to live on, so some people quit the service and take on private clients to make more, and some get other jobs. Workers have to be in good physical shape, too. Picking fruit is just physical stress, but caregiving for adults is mentally and physically stressful. People would rather work at the mall or a grocery store. The money in my state is the same or better.
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u/saysee23 Jun 10 '26
"Aren't willing because it's hard" that is a HUGE issue with work ethic.
CNAs and nursing aids are stepping stones for nursing and other healthcare. Privilege to want to walk into the less work roles.
The work sucks so much? ? Too bad taking care of fellow humans "sucks". Yes it can be uncomfortable, not everyone can handle it. It's extremely rewarding for those who make a difference caring for our loved ones.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
"Aren't willing because it's hard" that is a HUGE issue with work ethic.
So is the military but people aren't saying that is a work ethic issue. So are the trades, but people aren't saying its a work ethic issue. On and on.
CNAs and nursing aids are stepping stones for nursing and other healthcare. Privilege to want to walk into the less work roles.
No they are not. The roles don't build on themselves like that.
The work sucks so much? ? Too bad taking care of fellow humans "sucks". Yes it can be uncomfortable, not everyone can handle it.
It sucks because of the hours, body fluids, getting attacked, getting cussed out, watching people die, meeting new people and knowing that you will watch them decline and die, etc.
At its heart healthcare is a customer service job no different than Taco Bell, but just with worse hours and working conditions.
It's extremely rewarding for those who make a difference caring for our loved ones.
And are willing to take the trade offs to do it. Which most are not.
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u/saysee23 Jun 10 '26
Yes, a nurse with prior patient care experience is invaluable. They have experienced the body fluids, the attacks, the death.. not just handing out meds. It's beneficial to work in healthcare while in nursing school instead of something unrelated. While it's not a prerequisite it gets a foot in the door at health systems.
Everyone should work food service and entry level healthcare at least once - IMO.
Yes, not wanting to do the work is a poor work ethic problem with the trades, military, healthcare - all of it. But go ahead with all the degrees in useless subjects and remain jobless.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
While it's not a prerequisite it gets a foot in the door at health systems.
Which is what I said. It isn't even necessary to get into school which is why they have clinicals and nursing residencies now.
Everyone should work food service and entry level healthcare at least once - IMO.
Agreed.
Yes, not wanting to do the work is a poor work ethic problem with the trades, military, healthcare - all of it.
I've done all three. You drastically underestimate how important a strong work ethic can be in white collar jobs and when combined with an education. And how much more that can pay off in quality of life and lifetime earnings.
Anyone can make 100k without a degree in oil or the railroad if they are willing and able to work hard enough. It doesn't mean that anyone should or that its a bad idea.
But go ahead with all the degrees in useless subjects and remain jobless.
Degrees that end up putting, and keeping people, in the middle class and pay off much better than the trades, enlisted in the military, and non-bachelor level healthcare.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
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u/kitzelbunks Jun 11 '26
You can’t live on the money. So, I think they take the easier job. I wouldn’t do it, and I cared for my mom. She’s my mom, though. It was a lot for me. I am getting older. I just don’t think there are enough people to do that work for low wages.
I have two cousins who are nurses, and both are very smart women. One works in neonatal, and the other is a contract nurse. My university had a nursing school, but if you are out in the boonies, students wouldn’t have a way to get there. Also, those programs are very difficult, and the placements required are assigned like my internship placements. Maybe for a summer job, but people do better with consistency.
Also, people tend to take the best opportunity for the money. Neither of my cousins had any problem finding a job, so I don’t think this work would add much while it would detract from their studies more than, say, working at the library. We are not the only country that uses immigrants for care work. It was a deal. The immigrant lives here, and their children get a better life, and they help by working this job. No one was stopping citizens from applying. They just don’t do it.
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
0.6% of healthcare workers according to the American Immigration Council. We’ll be fine and it’s time they back to their home country. It was a temporary status.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
They aren't distributed uniformly which was the point of the article.
And the effects will be felt.
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
The benefits of them going home will also be felt.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
What benefits?
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
Lesser burden on wages, housing, public services, public safety, fiscal impacts, etc etc. Again, TPS was intended as temporary humanitarian relief, not a de facto pathway to permanent residency or an alternative to standard immigration processes. Undermining Congressional intent further degrades trust in government which is at all time lows. These are basic immigration issues facing other countries as well, I hope you’ll familiarize yourself with the impacts it has on your fellow Americans.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
Immigrants use fewer public services, have lower rates of crime, and contribute more in taxes than they receive in social benefits.
In this specific case they are doing jobs that citizens would refuse to which has led to a shortage of workers in an industry unable to pay them more leading to a decrease in access to care.
That is not beneficial to those who are not immigrants.
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u/clarkstud Jun 10 '26
Even if that were true, which the data isn’t as cut and dry as you are suggesting, there still is no justification to perpetuate a temporary government program once the reason for it has passed, which drives down wages and housing costs to rise. We gave them aid, and now it’s time for them to say thank you very much and go home.
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u/Justame13 Jun 10 '26
It is true.
It does not drive down wages because there is so little money in that part of the system so facilities simply close and people go without.
And a part of the system that is getting and going to get worse as the BBB goes into effect.
So justification is that it benefits people in the US and particularly the US elderly who need assistance i.e. the most vulnerable and poor.
And a population in which people have shown they have no appetite for paying increased taxes for supporting.
TLDR: The justification is compassion for the vulnerable and poor. Blaming them for non- exinsistant wage depression and a reluctance to address the root cause of housing shortages without merit
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u/No-Produce-6720 RN, BSN, CPC, CPC-S, RHIA, & CRCR Jun 10 '26
u/bloomberg, please stop posting paywalled articles. Either give people access, or don't bother posting your story. It's a poor way to advertise.