The ASHHRA Podcast
The ASHHRA Podcast is the definitive audio briefing for healthcare HR leaders navigating what’s next.
Hosted by Bo Brabo and Luke Carignan, this weekly podcast explores the forces reshaping the healthcare workforce, from talent shortages and leadership burnout to data-driven HR strategy, labor relations, and policy shifts that impact care delivery.
Each episode features candid conversations with CHROs, senior executives, and industry change-makers who are solving real problems inside hospitals and health systems right now. No theory, no fluff, just practical insight from leaders in the arena.
Listeners gain clarity on complex workforce challenges, early signals on emerging trends, and grounded perspectives that help bridge strategy and people operations. Whether you lead HR for a health system, support workforce strategy, or influence organizational culture, this podcast equips you to make better decisions with confidence.
New episodes drop weekly, with timely news updates, deep-dive conversations, and forward-looking insights designed for healthcare HR leaders preparing for 2026 and beyond.
The ASHHRA Podcast
#225 - Empower Hope to Overcome Painful Cuts
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April 27th, 2026. Three policy hits in the same week, all with direct workforce consequences. Bo, Luke, and ASHHRA Executive Director Jeremy Sadlier break down what HR leaders need to do before July 1st.
💉 RFK Jr. Defends $15.8B in HHS Cuts — His Own Word: Painful After seven congressional hearings, HHS Secretary Kennedy called the FY27 cuts painful and acknowledged his department does not want them: $5B in NIH funding, elimination of the National Institute on Minority Health, $923M in HIV/AIDS reductions, and deep cuts to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Bipartisan pushback was visible — Republican Senator Tom Tillis called the NIH cuts handing China our lunch. These are not Washington cuts. They flow directly to hospitals, universities, and health systems. Action: Identify every federal grant, research partnership, and workforce development program your organization depends on through NIH, HRSA, or HHS. Build that list this week. Contingency planning starts now, before FY27 makes the cuts real.
🩺 Nursing Was Excluded From the Definition of a Profession Effective July 1st, graduate nursing students lose access to $50,000/year in federal loans — capped instead at $20,500 — because nursing was excluded from the Department of Education's professional degree definition. Law, medicine, and dentistry made the list. Nursing, PT, OT, PA, and social work did not. 59% of nurses say they are now less likely to pursue a graduate degree. Action: Audit your advanced practice nursing vacancies. Evaluate whether your tuition assistance and loan repayment programs can close the new gap. Connect with academic partners now before fall enrollment is affected.
📋 Medicaid Work Requirements: 80 Hours a Month, Starting Late 2026 HR1 Medicaid work requirements are becoming operational — 80 hours per month of documented work, school, or community service or enrollees lose coverage. 65% of Medicaid recipients already work. Those most at risk are the low-wage frontline workers staffing your EVS, food service, PCA, and security roles. Action: Map your lowest-wage workforce against Medicaid thresholds in your state. Brief your CHRO on your exposure before a coverage gap destabilizes the frontline workforce you cannot afford to lose.
Every story this week lands on HR's desk. High five to every practitioner still standing.
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