2025 was a defining year for healthcare policy, with regulatory decisions and workforce pressures reshaping how professional licensure, continuing education (CE), and compliance are managed across the country. In this Propelus 2025 year in review, we breakdown the top five healthcare policy trends shaping professional licensure, workforce compliance, and care delivery.
From evolving licensure models to heighten expectations for transparency, data integrity, and workforce readiness, the following trends signal where regulators, agencies, and healthcare professionals are headed next, and what it means for systems that support public protection.
1. Licensing Modernization and Digital Platforms
The push to modernize and streamline licensure boards by enhancing government operational efficiencies and creating more user-centric, efficient experiences for licensed professionals, remained a key trend in 2025. Modernization efforts reduce administrative delays and accelerate workforce deployment.
In 2025, Texas, New Jersey, and Georgia advanced legislation to modernize how regulatory boards manage continuing education and increase transparency around licensure renewal. Framed as government efficiency initiatives, these reforms require boards to upgrade technology while staying true to their statutory mission: safeguarding patient care by ensuring licensed professionals remain competent and continuously able to serve their communities.
The new Georgia law, impacting more than 400,000 professionals licensed by the Secretary of State, takes effect January 1, 2026. Texas’s law will be effective September 1, 2026, while New Jersey’s legislative initiative is on track to pass favorably by the end of 2025. These efforts have received public support from state nursing associations, business and industry groups, and other professional organizations, reflecting broad stakeholder alignment around modernizing CE management and enhancing regulatory efficiency.
2. Mandated, State-Specific, Continuing Education Requirements
State-specific continuing education requirements remained a key legislative focus in 2025, highlighting their ongoing role in shaping healthcare professionals’ licensure obligations. Jurisdictional priorities spanned longstanding topics such as human trafficking, telemedicine, and mental health, as well as emerging areas including maternal health, sickle cell disease, nutrition, and menopause.
Looking ahead to 2026, this trend is expected to continue, with early indications that menopause, nutrition, and even sickle cell disease may become popular subjects for state-specific CE requirements proposed through legislation.
3. Interstate Licensure Compacts
2025 underscored that licensure compacts are no longer experimental. They have become a core pillar of state regulatory policy, supporting workforce access, scalable care, and multistate credential integrity.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) continued steady growth, with new states joining and reinforcing its role as a workforce sustainability tool amid clinician shortages, disaster response needs, and cross-state continuity-of-care mandates. In behavioral health, the Counseling Compact reached a milestone by granting its first multistate practice privileges, setting a precedent for practice rights beyond traditional licensure.
However, challenges remain. The Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact faced contentious debates over oversight, disciplinary coordination, and patient safety. Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) compact adoption progressed unevenly, with persistent concerns around collaborative agreements, multistate pharmacology credentials, and variable state scope-of-practice authorities. These debates illustrate a broader theme: states broadly support licensure mobility, but governance, disciplinary authority, and accountability remain central considerations.
In 2026, focus will shift to refining cross-state enforcement, privileging frameworks, complaint resolution, and telehealth oversight. For healthcare organizations, compacts are increasingly central to staffing strategies, particularly for cross-state care and addressing workforce shortages.
4. Telehealth and Remote Practice Regulations
The federal push to make telehealth and remote care permanent has driven states to consider refining licensing and compliance frameworks. Providers are generally required to hold an active license in the patient’s state of care, reducing the “grey-area” flexibilities allowed under pandemic-era waivers. Several states are continuing to explore additional requirements for remote-only providers, such as telehealth registration, specialized licensure categories, or distinct telehealth licensure pathways. These measures aim to enhance accountability, safeguard patient safety, and provide clearer regulatory guidance.
Organizations delivering care across state lines or via telehealth must continue to strengthen licensing compliance infrastructure. Without proactive management, providers face increasing compliance risks as states enforce more stringent telehealth regulations. The trend toward formalized remote-care licensing and oversight will remain a key focus in 2026.
5. Alternative Pathways for Foreign-Trained Professionals
In 2025, significant strides were made in creating alternative pathways for internationally trained doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. These initiatives are helping to expand the provider pool, addressing persistent workforce shortages and improving access to care in high-demand regions. By reducing barriers for qualified foreign-trained professionals, states are not only seeking to strengthen the healthcare workforce, but also enhance flexibility and resilience in meeting community needs.
Other Noteworthy 2025 Developments
Mental Health: Removing Stigmatizing Questions
In 2025, states continued to remove or revise intrusive mental health questions on licensure applications. These reforms reduce stigma, support workforce retention, and encourage healthcare professionals to report mental health conditions without fear of career repercussions. By prioritizing wellness and creating a more supportive licensure process, policymakers are aiming to foster a healthier, more resilient healthcare workforce.
Scope-of-Practice Reforms
States also advanced scope-of-practice reforms for nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, adjusting autonomy and supervision requirements. These changes directly impact workforce capacity and patient access, influencing how organizations deploy clinicians across communities. From a government-relations standpoint, these developments highlight the importance of strategic engagement with policymakers, as scope-of-practice decisions are central to both regulatory compliance and addressing workforce shortages.
Council on Licensing, Education and Regulation (CLEAR) Released AI Guidance and Glossary for Regulators
In December 2025, CLEAR’s AI Workgroup released the CLEAR Principles along with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) glossary for regulators. These principles offer practical, values-driven guidance that can be adapted across jurisdictions, regulatory frameworks, and resource levels. They are not prescriptive rules but serve as strategic guideposts to support the responsible, safe, and effective adoption of AI in professional regulation. As technology and AI policy continue to evolve, these principles will likely be updated to reflect emerging challenges and opportunities.
Key Trends to Watch in 2026
AI Regulation - Federal v. State
The December 2025 Executive Order from President Trump, which proposes a federal AI framework and targets state AI laws deemed “onerous,” sets the stage for potential conflict between federal and state oversight. If upheld or challenged in court, this could reshape how healthcare AI tools, including licensure and credentialing automation, are regulated, potentially simplifying compliance in some areas, but introducing legal uncertainty over which standards take precedence. Despite federal pressure, many states continue to advance their own AI legislation, indicating that regulatory fragmentation is likely to persist into 2026.
Greater Digital Transparency and Audit Readiness
Regulatory oversight in healthcare and professional licensing is increasingly moving toward digital transparency and continuous audit readiness. Licensing boards are prioritizing real-time documentation, integrated audit capabilities, and seamless CE tracking, signaling a shift from periodic manual reviews to ongoing, automated oversight.
Professionals can expect greater digital proof submission, instant validation during renewals, and a regulatory environment where audit preparedness is built into daily compliance practices. These developments are essential for staying ahead in a landscape that demands speed, accuracy, and verifiable accountability.
Conclusion
In an era of accelerating regulatory change, organizations must adopt proactive credentialing strategies capable of navigating increasing legislative and policy complexity. With 46 states convening regular legislative sessions in 2026 and regulatory shifts likely to emerge throughout the year, healthcare organizations face a dynamic environment that demands vigilance and adaptability. Navigating policy changes will be essential to advancing workforce mobility, preserving access to care, and safeguarding patient safety, while maintaining operational continuity and long-term organizational resilience.