Researchers at Harvard University and Darmouth College suggest that registered nurses’ wages and job opportunities have declined under managed care.
In a report published in Health Affairs, researchers wrote, “In particular, it appears that managed care has reduced demand for RNs, first in hospitals and more recently in home health, and as a result has led to a decline in RN earnings.”
Decreased employment opportunities and wage growth was found nationwide, and was not confined to any particular region. “The slowdown in hospital employment and wage growth, first observed in states with high HMO enrollment in the early 1990s, has now emerged in all states,” read the report.
