Staffing firms will benefit as users of healthcare staffing services will desperately need workers through 2016. In the longer term, users of these services will increasingly pay more for quality workers, and technology will create need for new skills and new roles.

Tony Gregoire, director of Research at Staffing Industry Analysts, delivered that message in a keynote speech Sept. 29 at the Healthcare Staffing Summit in Las Vegas.

Gregoire noted the US added 144,000 hospital jobs since July 2014 as the impact of the Affordable Care Act kicked in. And the uninsured rate for US adults fell to 11.4% in the second quarter of 2015 from 17.1% in the fourth quarter of 2013.

As a result, US healthcare staffing revenue will hit a record $12.7 billion this year, up 17% from the previous year.

Another jump in demand for healthcare is expected in 2016, but growth is projected to moderate in 2017. In addition, the national nurse shortage previously projected for 2025 is now called into question.

Also, the US Department of Health and Human Services in an announcement in January further put the focus of Medicare reimbursements to value from volume — spurring a push for greater quality in the long run, Gregoire said.

The picture appears rosy for healthcare staffing firms, especially in the short term. But as a cautionary note, economic recessions, whenever they occur, can temporarily derail trends, he said.