How the Healthcare Workforce Is Responding to New Aging Policies | Age-Friendly Health Series

How the Healthcare Workforce Is Responding to New Aging Policies | Age-Friendly Health Series

From A Health Podyssey by Health Affairs

May 20, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the healthcare workforce's response to new aging policies, focusing on direct care workers and related challenges.

Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy. In our second episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Bianca Frogner, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Washington to discuss the role of direct care workers in long‑term care, workforce shortages, policy shifts affecting Medicaid, immigration, labor standards, and more. Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation . Related Links Health Care Workforce Pay Gaps: COVID-19 Modestly Compressed Wage Disparities, 2015–24 The AWARD Network PHI

People in this episode

Host: Katherine Ornstein

Guest: Bianca Frogner

Topics covered

  • healthcare workforce
  • aging policies
  • long-term care
  • Medicaid
  • labor standards
  • workforce shortages

Keywords

  • healthcare workforce
  • aging policies
  • long-term care
  • Medicaid
  • labor standards
  • workforce shortages
  • direct care workers

Sponsors

The John A. Hartford Foundation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for Health Workforce Studies, University of Washington

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