(WTAQ-WLUK) — Although the health care workforce in Wisconsin continues to grow, it is struggling to keep pace with the rising demand being driven by an aging population and a shrinking labor pool.
That’s according to the 2026 Wisconsin Health Care Workforce Report released Tuesday by the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
The report says hospital employment has increased 23% over the last decade. Vacancy rates have also improved from a peak of 10% in 2022 to 7.2% in 2024.
However, Wisconsin hospitals are still experiencing vacancy rates that are more than double pre-pandemic levels. Physician shortages also remain a concern, as a survey of Wisconsin hospitals and health systems revealed an overall vacancy rate of more than 15%.
Officials are warning demographic trends will only intensify this pressure.
“Wisconsin hospitals have made real progress in hiring and retention, but we’re in a race against time,” said Ann Zenk, WHA senior vice president of workforce and clinical practice, in a news release. “Health care demand is projected to rise 10% by 2040 while our working-age population continues to shrink. We’re growing the workforce, but not fast enough to meet the needs of an aging population.”
According to the report, Wisconsin’s working-age population has been on the decline since 2010, and it is projected to keep shrinking through 2050.
Meanwhile, residents 65 and older — who use health care at more than twice the rate of working-age adults and five times the rate of those younger than 16 years old — represent the fastest-growing segment of the population. 93% of adults 65 and older have at least one chronic condition and 79% have two or more.
“With many Wisconsinites already experiencing chronic conditions, especially in the fastest growing Wisconsin age group, those above 65, an increase in health care demand is unavoidable,” the report states.
Capacity challenges are further compounding workforce pressures. Wisconsin had 46,000 nursing home beds in 2002, but in 2024, that number had fallen to just 26,000 — despite the elderly Medicaid population nearly doubling.
The #1 recommendation in this year’s Wisconsin Health Care Workforce Report is decreasing the payer and regulatory burden getting between health care teams and the patients they care for.
“Administrative and payer requirements increasingly pull providers away from patients, exacerbating the workforce strain… [It] is a correctable cause that must be addressed with greater urgency,” the report says.
Key suggestions cited in the report are as follows:
- Break down barriers to entering and remaining in the health care workforce: Reduce legal, regulatory and payer barriers that delay or deny care, ensure new requirements provide clear benefit relative to administrative burden and support workplace culture and workforce well-being
- Expand accessible and achievable education and career pathways: Increase early career exposure, strengthen partnerships with technical colleges and universities, expand apprenticeships and employer-based training programs and increase funding for “Grow Our Own” initiatives
- Support practice, policy, and payment reforms that help teams reach their full potential: Encourage innovative care models supported by technology, including telehealth monitoring, recovery at home and hospital at home programs; identify opportunities to integrate emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence; and update state law to support patient and family decision-making to relieve bottlenecks in post-acute care settings.
“Wisconsin’s hospitals and health systems are investing significant resources into our state’s healthcare workforce,” said Kyle O’Brien, WHA president and CEO. “At the same time, hospitals are faced with lagging reimbursement and growing red tape from government and private insurance companies, using precious human resources that should be used at the bedside rather than for unnecessary payer bureaucracy.”
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