Gist Weekly: September 25, 2026

In the News

What happened in healthcare recently—and what we think about it.

What the Gen Z healthcare workforce wants. The youngest healthcare workers are still looking to leave their jobs but not for the reasons one may assume, according to a Harris Poll survey released last week. The latest data found that while 70% of Gen Z employees expected to look for a new role in the next year, 65% also planned to stay with one employer for five or more years. While burnout was a dominant factor in turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term stability is now a top concern. Almost nine out of 10 Gen Z employees said clear opportunities for advancement mattered to them, compared with 80% of all healthcare workers. Yet nearly half of Gen Zers pointed to a lack of advancement opportunities, and only 26% indicated they trust their employer to support their career growth. Although 89% of employers said workforce education programs improve retention and career mobility, fewer than half have a comprehensive education program in place.

• The Gist: The 63-point gap between what Gen Z healthcare employees want and the trust they have in leadership is notable. Yet while the workforce overall has low levels of trust in leadership, Gen Z healthcare workers indicate supportive and growth-oriented workplaces as the key factor that influences professional priorities. For hospitals and health systems, “it’s about creating a culture based on solid infrastructure to support the development of staff and providers for growth and development in their healthcare careers beyond compensation,” says Bonnie Proulx, senior vice president at Kaufman Hall. Professional development ladders, educational opportunities, and professional recognition can be important levers for building culture and engaging the healthcare workforce at a time when the U.S. faces a shortage of nearly 500,000 healthcare workers by 2038.

And—what we’re following.

• Alcohol use fell for the first time since COVID-19, according to a study published Tuesday.
• Eight new appointees joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week.
• Medicaid enrollees and several medical societies joined an existing lawsuit challenging Medicaid work requirements last Friday.

Plus—what we’ve been reading.

The dangers of illicit weight-loss drugs. Regulators in Ohio have shuttered more than 50 underground manufacturers who are reproducing versions of Eli Lilly’s experimental GLP-1 drug, retatrutide, which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. The article focuses on Ohio as an aggressive enforcer, cracking down on so-called “medical spas” and online retailers that provide illicit drugs, which usually are shipped from overseas, to consumers. Ohio conducted more than 1,000 inspections since March 2025. Yet strong demand for GLP-1s, a loosely regulated peptide industry, and a difficult-to-intercept supply network remain obstacles. The FDA has issued warning letters and urged consumers not to use retatrutide outside an official clinical trial.

• The Gist: The intense demand for GLP-1s is pushing some patients to go to extreme lengths to gain access to unapproved products that carry risks of contamination, mislabeling, and unknown ingredients. Others may simply be unaware that the GLP-1s they are using are unapproved and are illicitly procured by “medical spas,” clinics, and online retailers. Hospitals and health systems could experience downstream effects on emergency and acute care due to the rise in poison-control reports and adverse events. Health systems may have an opportunity to strengthen patient education, promote only approved weight loss treatments, and help reduce patient harm associated with the growing underground market.

Graphic of the Week

A key insight illustrated in infographic form.

What Americans want fixed in healthcare

American adults expressed opinions about how to fix healthcare and who is responsible, according to the latest study from Commonwealth Fund. Costs of premiums (41%), deductibles, and copays (36%) associated with medical care and prescriptions were among the most significant problems that respondents said needed to be solved or significantly improved. They had varying opinions on who is most able to solve them. Approximately 41% believed the federal government and 36% believed insurance companies are most able to solve the cost problem. Less than 5% of Americans found employers, tech firms, or themselves were best positioned to solve the problems they identified.

This Week at Kaufman Hall

What our experts are saying about key issues in healthcare.

Rural healthcare organizations navigate exceptional challenges to deploy resources effectively across large geographies. A hub-spoke-node approach offers a new way to think about the rural care network by determining which services should remain centralized, which should stay local, and which should move even closer to patients through trusted community connections, Kenny O’Neill wrote in a recent article.

On Our Podcast

The Gist Healthcare Podcast—all the headlines in healthcare policy, business and more, in 10 minutes or less every other weekday morning.

Earlier this week, host J. Carlisle Larsen spoke with Washington Post data reporter Lydia Sidhom about the financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and physicians who prescribe GLP-1 drugs.

This Monday, we’re revisiting our conversation from earlier this year with Colleen Fogarty, MD, about data showing a decline of more than 10% in the number of family physicians serving rural areas since 2017. We discuss what the trend means for access to care and the communities affected.

Thanks for reading! Please check out our Gist Weekly archive for past editions. We also have all our recent Graphics of the Week available here.

Best regards,
The Gist Weekly team at Kaufman Hall