2025 was a year of compounding disruptions. Tariffs created uncertainty around pricing and supply chains for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Medicaid policy changed. ACA subsidies lapsed. Workforce pressures mounted. AI moved into clinical workflows. Research funding faced federal overhauls.
CBOH’s conferences addressed these shifts as they happened. Our Spring symposium explored workforce investment strategies in this rapidly changing environment and what investment needs to be like moving forward. Our Fall conference, “Navigating Healthcare Ecosystem Disruptions,” examined how changes ripple across interdependent systems in healthcare delivery, financing, and access.
Our research tackled these challenges directly: analyses on pharmaceutical and medical device tariffs, examinations of Medicaid financing changes and their impact on hospital margins, essential primers on Medicaid coverage and the state of physician and nursing workforces, frameworks for AI-integrated nursing care, research on virtual nursing’s effect on patient outcomes, and a white paper distilling insights from our Spring symposium on reframing healthcare workforce investments.
Here’s a snapshot of what we did in 2025:
Trade policy emerged as a major factor in healthcare operations during 2025. Our April analysis examined pharmaceutical tariffs while they were still under consideration. By September, policy became reality with a 100% tariff on imported branded or patented pharmaceuticals. Companies already constructing U.S. manufacturing facilities received exemptions.
Our October work assessed the practical implications. One analysis examined how tariffs on medical devices and supplies would affect hospital budgets and patient access. Another explored pharmaceutical tariffs in combination with Most Favored Nation pricing policies, questioning whether these policy tools could address drug pricing challenges or simply create new supply chain vulnerabilities.
Entering 2026, the question of tariffs remains top of mind as the Supreme Court examines the legality of the recent tariffs, likely leading to continued uncertainty across healthcare as we enter the new year.
Medicaid emerged as a central policy concern in 2025. Our June primer provided foundational context on coverage, funding mechanisms, and the ongoing tensions between state and federal policymakers. The piece addressed a clear need for accessible explanation of a program covering over 80 million Americans.
By September, we examined specific policy changes affecting Medicaid financing, provider taxes, and eligibility requirements. Our analysis focused on how these shifts impact hospital margins, with particular attention to rural hospitals already facing severe financial constraints.
Workforce pressures intensified throughout 2025. Our February brief documented the state of physician and nursing workforces, quantifying shortages and challenges that healthcare organizations were experiencing across the country.
Our 2025 Research Symposium brought together leaders from across sectors under Chatham House Rule to examine these challenges. The resulting white paper identified five strategic themes. A central finding: addressing workforce sustainability requires moving beyond traditional staffing solutions to fundamentally rethink how we support healthcare workers.
Two research collaborations provided evidence for emerging care models. Blair Liu, Yuqian Xu, and CBOH faculty director Brad Staats from KFBS examined virtual nursing implementation and found measurable improvements in patient outcomes, including reduced length of stay and lower readmission rates. The research demonstrates that technology-enabled care models can deliver tangible results.
A collaboration with the UNC School of Nursing led to the development of a conceptual framework for AI-integrated care delivery, specifically examining nursing tasks. The framework offers structure for research and practice as artificial intelligence transitions from pilot programs to operational implementation in clinical settings.
The complexity of 2025’s challenges demanded cross-sector dialogue. Over a full day at UNC Kenan-Flagler, our Fall conference convened leaders to discuss sustaining U.S. innovation leadership, healthcare strategy amid trade policy changes, progress and setbacks in health research, access and coverage transformation, and capital market dynamics. Panelists included hospital executives, pharmaceutical company presidents, investors, researchers, and policymakers navigating disruption in real time.
You can watch the full conference panels and discussions here: UNC Center for the Business of Health
Associate Director, Research, Center for the Business of Health; UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
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