Healthcare CFOs are navigating an increasingly complex labor landscape. Contingent labor — whether through travel nurses, locum tenens or allied staff — often raises questions from the C-suite. How does it compare to internal labor? Is it inherently more expensive? And what costs should be considered beyond hourly rates?
Increasingly, finance leaders are moving beyond hourly rate comparisons to take a more complete view of total labor costs, market conditions and operational impact. That shift is informed not only by data, but by real-world experience.
That experience is reflected in how one healthcare CFO approached contingent labor strategy — and how broader market data helps put those decisions into context.
A CFO’s Perspective
At Cookeville Regional, CFO Tommye Rena Wells shared how contingent labor strategy directly impacted financial performance:
Her experience highlights the power of data-driven, transparent partnerships in reshaping how contingent labor contributes to both financial and workforce health.
Looking at the Full Cost of Labor
Comparisons between contingent and permanent labor often focus on hourly wages alone. However, hourly rates do not reflect the full cost of employing and maintaining a workforce.
According to KPMG’s 2025 U.S. Nursing, Allied Health and Therapy Labor Costs Study, commissioned by the National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO), travel clinicians can be less expensive than permanent staff when all costs are fully considered.
Key findings include:
- Travel nurses average approximately $89 per hour in all-in cost, compared to $94 per hour for permanent nurses.
- Traveling allied health professionals cost about 9% less than permanent allied staff.
- Traveling therapy staff cost approximately 13% less than their permanent counterparts.
The study evaluates total labor cost by accounting for both direct compensation and indirect costs associated with permanent roles. It also notes that contingent labor can help offset costs tied to turnover, onboarding and vacancies, while supporting workforce flexibility.
Why Hourly Rate Comparisons Fall Short
Hourly wage comparisons are often used as a shorthand for evaluating labor cost, but they reflect only part of the financial picture. Permanent employees also carry costs that extend beyond base pay, including:
- Benefits and retirement contributions
- Paid time off, sick time and other non-productive hours
- Recruiting, onboarding and training expenses
- Overtime usage that can contribute to burnout and turnover
- Productivity loss during vacancies and extended time-to-fill
Viewed in isolation, hourly rates can obscure these cumulative costs. A total-cost perspective provides a more accurate framework for evaluating how different labor models affect both near-term budgets and longer-term workforce stability.
Market Conditions and the Value of Data
Travel nurse revenue declined 37% in 2024, driven by lower bill rates and demand normalization. Even so, the market remains significantly larger than before the pandemic.
At the same time, 73% of contingent labor spend now flows through MSP programs, making transparency and benchmarking more important than ever. This is where broad, real-time market data becomes an essential financial tool for CFOs.
Organizations working with Qualivis benefit from insights drawn across regions, vendors and labor types, all powered by LotusOne — Qualivis’ centralized workforce platform. With full visibility into contingent labor usage, rates and total spend, finance leaders gain a clearer pulse on market competitiveness and the transparency needed to align contingent labor decisions with both strategic priorities and financial goals.
The Bottom Line for CFOs
When evaluating contingent labor, finance leaders should keep three points in mind:
- Evaluating contingent labor requires understanding total labor cost, not just hourly rates.
- Hourly wage comparisons alone can obscure indirect costs tied to turnover, onboarding, and vacancies.
- Access to market data and transparent partnerships can support more informed workforce decisions.
For many hospitals, contingent labor is not a last resort — it’s a necessary part of a balanced workforce strategy. With the right insights, CFOs can approach it as a lever for cost control, workforce stability and long-term financial sustainability.
By bringing together data, transparency and collaboration, Qualivis helps health systems turn contingent labor from a budget concern into a strategic advantage.