Healthcare HR leaders are heading into one of the most consequential weeks of the year. In this episode of the ASHHRA Monday News Drop, Luke Carignan, Bo Brabo, and ASHHRA President & CEO Jeremy Sadlier unpack three fast-moving developments that demand immediate attention from HR, finance, and executive teams.

Segment 1: A Tale of Two Coasts
While New York nurses return to work after securing historic staffing protections, the West Coast is waking up to a massive escalation. More than 31,000 healthcare workers across California and Hawaii, including nurses, pharmacists, and imaging professionals, have launched an open-ended strike over staffing ratios and wages tied to inflation.
HR reality check: The contagion effect is real. Enforceable staffing guarantees are now the most powerful organizing and recruiting tool in healthcare. Union or not, organizations that fail to visibly address staffing risk becoming the next target.

Segment 2: The Telehealth Hail Mary
With just days remaining before the January 30 deadline, the House has passed a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities. The Senate still must act. A lapse, even for 48 hours, could trigger denied claims and major revenue disruption.
Actionable guidance: Do not dismantle telehealth infrastructure. Instruct revenue cycle teams to hold telehealth claims from February 1–3 until Senate confirmation is secured. This single step could prevent a costly billing crisis.

Segment 3: The “Great Healthcare Plan” and PBM Reform
The White House has released a new healthcare framework emphasizing aggressive PBM reform and price transparency, while notably stepping away from enhanced ACA subsidies. Premium pressure for employees is likely to persist.
HR opportunity: PBM reform is not just a finance issue. Use this moment to demand transparency from your benefits partners, audit rebate structures, and identify savings that can help offset rising employee costs.

This Week’s Focus:
• Monitor West Coast labor activity and prepare for patient surges
• Protect telehealth revenue during legislative uncertainty
• Reassess staffing strategy, benefits cost exposure, and PBM risk

Healthcare HR is no longer adjacent to strategy. It is central to it.

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Healthcare HR is entering a pressure point week. In this Monday News Drop, Bo Brabo, Luke Carignan, and Jeremy Sadlier break down three converging forces that are already reshaping labor strategy, care delivery, and executive decision making.

Segment 1: The “Peace Treaty” Hangover
The New York City nurses strike has officially ended at NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai, but the real impact is just beginning. The tentative agreement sets a national precedent: a 19% wage increase over three years paired with an ironclad staffing enforcement clause. If staffing ratios are missed, nurses receive automatic premium pay with no arbitration and no delay.

HR takeaway: This is not just a labor story. It is an operational and financial risk signal. HR leaders should immediately calculate their staffing miss rate and model what automatic penalties would have cost last month. If you wait for the union to raise this, you are already behind.

Segment 2: The Telehealth Countdown
Extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities expire in 11 days, on January 30, 2026. Without Congressional action, the geographic originating site rule snaps back on February 1, limiting reimbursement for home based telehealth visits outside rural areas.

HR takeaway: Do you know which providers in your system would be out of compliance on February 1? If not, why not? This is a data and workforce planning problem, not just a policy issue. Patient access, provider schedules, and employee time off will all be affected if telehealth abruptly contracts.

Segment 3: The Efficiency Wave Moves West
Following Alameda Health, Providence announced cuts of approximately 450 non clinical roles across Washington and Oregon, while CVS Health and its subsidiary Oak Street Health are closing clinics and reducing headcount. Growth at all costs is giving way to margin preservation.

HR takeaway: This is not panic. It is a phase change. Expect continued role consolidation, automation, and redeployment. The best organizations will reskill and redeploy talent with integrity, transparency, and real choice, not force disguised as opportunity.

The Bigger Picture
Labor contracts, care delivery models, and financial discipline are converging fast. If you are in healthcare HR and still see yourself as adjacent to strategy, it is time to step forward. The teams who engage now will be shaping enterprise decisions a year from today.

🎧 Listen in, get ahead, and lead from the center.

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In this week’s Monday News Drop, hosts Bo Brabo, Luke Carignan, and Jeremy Sadlier unpack the critical workforce, policy, and compensation trends shaping healthcare HR as we move deeper into 2026. From labor risk to pay strategy to the expiration of ACA subsidies, this episode delivers practical insight leaders can act on immediately.

Key Topics Covered:

Nurse Strike Risk & Staffing Ratios
With New York City facing potential large-scale nursing strikes, the conversation highlights how staffing ratios are shifting from policy language to enforceable labor contract terms. The takeaway for HR leaders is clear: transparency, staffing communication, and proactive workforce planning can reduce strike risk faster than wages alone.

Medicaid Cuts & ACA Subsidy Expiration
The team explores the real-world impact of Medicaid funding reductions and the expiration of ACA premium subsidies. Hospitals are already seeing layoffs, rising uncompensated care, and growing emergency department utilization. HR leaders are urged to prepare for budget volatility, workforce redeployment, and increased pressure on frontline staffing.

Workforce Redeployment Over Layoffs
Rather than defaulting to layoffs, this episode reinforces the case for redeploying and upskilling existing employees. From patient access to revenue cycle roles, proactive retraining can stabilize operations while preserving institutional knowledge and morale.

2026 Pay Strategy Reality Check
National merit increases have stabilized around 3–3.5%, but healthcare remains an outlier with sustained wage pressure. The hosts discuss why across-the-board increases no longer work and why differentiated pay strategies are essential to retain top clinical talent and manage wage compression.

The HR Imperative
This episode reinforces a core message: workforce shortages are now structural, not cyclical. Burnout is an organizational risk, not an individual failure. And HR leaders play a central role in navigating labor relations, compensation strategy, and policy-driven disruption.

Actionable Takeaways for This Week:
• Run a strike-risk audit with nurse leaders
• Audit per diem and part-time coverage options
• Review telehealth compliance timelines
• Identify redeployment and upskilling opportunities

🎧 Listen now to stay ahead of the workforce, policy, and compensation shifts redefining healthcare HR in 2026.

From Our Sponsor(s)...

Optimize Pharmacy Benefits with RxBenefits
Elevate your employee benefits while managing costs. Did you know hospital employees fill 25% more prescriptions annually than other industries? Ensure cost-effective, high-quality pharmacy plans by leveraging your hospital’s own pharmacies. Discover smarter strategies with RxBenefits.

Learn More here - https://rxbene.fit/3ZaurZN

Support the show