National Locum Tenens Week returns August 10 through 14, 2026, with more than an anniversary to mark.
The 10th annual celebration arrives weeks after the Reinforcing Underserved, Rural, and Local (RURAL) Healthcare Act cleared the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce. This marks the furthest a federal bill addressing the classification of locum tenens workers has advanced in Congress.
In a recent announcement, NALTO shared what this milestone means for the industry, reflected on how far the staffing model has come since the first National Locum Tenens Week, and encouraged agencies to celebrate using its updated marketing toolkit.
Why the RURAL Healthcare Act Matters
A decade after the first National Locum Tenens Week, the staffing model plays a much larger role in US healthcare. Locum tenens has moved beyond its old reputation as an emergency fix, with organizations now using temporary providers to maintain coverage and manage staffing gaps that permanent hiring can’t resolve quickly.
More than 55,000 physicians worked locum assignments in 2025, representing over 5% of US doctors. Meanwhile, 81% of US healthcare facilities used locums that year. Locum tenens has also been the only temporary healthcare staffing segment to grow every year since 2021, with Staffing Industry Analysts estimating that the US market reached $9.6 billion in 2025.
While the industry’s role has expanded over the past decade, federal labor law hasn’t provided additional clarity.
California’s Assembly Bill 5 raised concerns in 2019 by establishing a stricter test for determining whether many workers should be classified as employees. Physicians received an exemption from that test, although their independent contractor arrangements remained subject to other requirements.
In 2023, lawmakers introduced the Healthcare Provider Shortage Minimization Act, the first federal proposal intended to establish independent contractor status for qualified locum tenens clinicians. That effort didn’t become law, but it set the groundwork for the current bill.
Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah introduced the RURAL Healthcare Act on April 16, 2026. The bill would classify qualified locum tenens providers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act.
“For ten years, National Locum Tenens Week has been about recognition. This year it is also about progress,” NALTO President Liz Hale said after the committee vote. “The RURAL Healthcare Act clearing committee is the most significant step Congress has taken to protect locum tenens, and it happened because our member firms and the providers they place have spent a decade making the case. We intend to see it through.”
Committee approval is a major milestone, but the legislation would still need to pass the full House and Senate and receive the president’s signature before becoming law.
Locums Are More Important Than Ever
The debate over worker classification comes as healthcare organizations face persistent workforce pressure.
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 86,000 physicians by 2036. Locum tenens clinicians can’t solve that shortage on their own, but they can help organizations maintain patient access while leaders pursue longer-term staffing plans.
That practical role sits at the center of National Locum Tenens Week’s theme, “Temporary Providers, Permanent Impact.”
At the heart of the industry’s growth over the last 10 years has been the providers who go wherever, whenever they’re needed to meet patient needs. As physician shortages continue to challenge the healthcare system, their role is more essential than ever to providing continuity of care, especially in rural and underserved areas.
“The assignments are temporary,” Hale said. “What they leave behind, in patients treated and departments kept open, is permanent. That is worth 10 years of recognition and many more to come.”
Join In on the Celebration With the Marketing Toolkit
NALTO’s updated marketing toolkit, available at locumtenensweek.org, gives staffing agencies materials to recognize the physicians and APPs they work with during National Locum Tenens Week.
The toolkit includes brand guidance, email templates, graphics, and content created for the event’s 10th anniversary. Agencies can use the hashtag #LocumTenensWeek in their social posts for a chance to be featured by NALTO on LinkedIn.
The anniversary offers the industry a reason to celebrate, while the RURAL Healthcare Act marks concrete progress. For clinicians, staffing agencies, and healthcare organizations, the next steps in Congress could shape how locum tenens work is classified under federal law.
