Hacker News Reader

Comment by linuxftw | Hacker News Reader

There is some kind of cartel in the health care industry. They are absolutely not going to pay nurses more, and they are absolutely going to keep staffing at the minimum level. There is some kind of gentleman's agreement to not compete for labor. If everyone is paying 'market rate' and they all seem to know exactly what that rate is, there is collusion.

View on HN

Maybe cartel is a strong word, but there are many states in the US where, in order to operate a medical facility or provide a service, you must get permission from all of the existing facilities in the locality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_need

This extends to even purchasing medical equipment.

Labor's finally waking up to this; the nurses at my area's second-largest hospital just unionized last year and won a hard-fought contract this week.

https://nurse.org/articles/nurse-strikes-list/ (Nurse Strike Updates 2023, Full List)

https://medcitynews.com/2023/07/pandemic-nurse-labor-union-w... ("Nurse unions and labor experts agree that the pandemic was a turning point that catalyzed nurses to fight for improved working conditions and overall better treatment from their employers. By negotiating new contracts with their employers, unions are working hard to both uphold patient safety and mitigate the nursing field’s debilitating workforce shortage.")

https://www.incrediblehealth.com/blog/state-nurses-unions/ ("A Comprehensive Guide of State-by-State Nursing Unions")

That's great news. I know quite a few nurses where I live, and they are being fed the anti-union propaganda from their employers. The hospital industry around here is getting nervous, they have been quite comfortable for a while. Unfortunately, the nurses don't seem to want the union, even though it will practically double their wages overnight.

Oh yeah, the hospital's anti-union posters were quite something; just transparently bullshit/misleading. Stuff like "your union can't promise you a raise!" - well, neither is the hospital.

It would be nice if medical residents would unionize and force hospitals to stop using long hours (sometimes 24 hour or longer shifts) to haze them with sleep deprivation. This sleep deprivation results in medical errors that injure/kill patients, and also mades medical residents more likely to have car crashes when driving home after their shift.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com