If you work in healthcare today, you know what the data shows: allied health professionals are the backbone of our system. They make up 60% of the U.S. healthcare workforce—over five million people—and directly shape patient access, care quality, and operational efficiency.

Yet facilities are feeling the strain.About 85% report shortages in key allied health roles, leading to longer wait times, heavier workloads for staff, and nurses and physicians delivering care without the support they rely on.

These roles are also vital entry points into healthcare – accessible on‑ramps for learners, career changers, and anyone seeking upward mobility in healthcare careers. And as nursing and physician shortages persist, we can’t solve those challenges without strengthening allied health pathways.

At NHA, we’re focused on solving these challenges. Alongside high‑quality certification, we invest in government affairs and policy—working with employers, educators, and partners like you—to shape federal and state solutions that expand access to training, build job‑ready skills, and enable professionals to practice to the full extent of their preparation.

To meaningfully address shortages, policy solutions must work together to:

• Strengthen the workforce pipeline - Grow student pathways, training capacity, and educator support through employer‑educator collaboration.
• Expand flexible, work‑based pathways - Broaden participation with flexible, affordable, job-aligned models.
• Elevate high‑quality, industry‑validated credentials - Strengthen quality signals to improve hiring confidence, portability, and patient outcomes.
• Improve utilization, retention, and advancement -Retain talent and expand capacity by enabling advancement and top-of-preparation practice.

These principles guide where and howNHA advocates to improve the allied health professional pipeline.

Current Federal Legislation

Our federal advocacy includes support for:

• H.R 4262 Reauthorization of Title VII of thePublic Health Services Act (PHSA): Reauthorize key grant programs that support the education and training of allied health professionals.
• H.R. 935 Health Care Workforce InnovationAct of 2025: Creates grants for allied health training in underserved areas and invests in programs with local workforce needs.
• S. 1087/H.R. 1708 Rebuild America’s Health Care Schools Act of 2025: EnsuresMedicare reimburses costs related to hospital-based nursing and allied health education programs.

Fiscal Year(FY) 2026 Federal Funding

Funding for PHSA Title VII, Job Corps, and CTE programs was included in a government funding package (appropriations bill) signed into law on February3, 2026. Thankfully, this outcome did not include earlier proposals to cut these programs by $1.57B. Our team has been opposing federal funding cuts through advocacy efforts over the past several months and will continue to both monitor and share relevant updates.

Apprenticeships

The Department of Labor recently announced $145 million in funding for pay-for-performance incentive payments to expand the number of high-quality registered apprenticeships nationwide. Because healthcare is one of the designated industries, NHA is monitoring opportunities and will be sharing relevant grant information.

Through this blog series, we’ll keep you informed on key developments and partner with you to turn policy into practical solutions that strengthen the allied health workforce.

How You Can Get Involved

Your real‑world experiences help set our priorities and strengthen our advocacy, and your perspective matters! Our voices are stronger when we advocate together.NHA invites you to engage with our Government Relations and Public Affairs team to share your real-world perspective. Your experiences help us establish and deepen policymakers' understanding of and support for allied health roles.

If you have questions or would like to get involved, please contact Kurt Burkum, NHA Senior Director of Government Relations, at kurt.burkum@ascendlearning.com.