The pandemic reshaped health care delivery, and the years of upheaval that followed reshaped the legal work behind it.
Health law attorneys have had to adapt alongside the providers they serve, policy by policy.
Jennifer M. Nelson Carney, Member of the Firm in the Health Care practice of Epstein Becker Green, authored "Women's Network—A Challenging Six Years Since COVID-19... But I'm Optimistic and Determined" in Health Law Connections, AHLA's member magazine.
Jenny traces the strain across four flashpoints. The COVID-19 pandemic, declared in March 2020, brought PPE shortages and rising patient volumes. The public skepticism that followed drove many health care workers into early retirement and left the industry short-staffed. The Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision returned abortion regulation to the states, creating a shifting patchwork of reproductive health care law. OB-GYNs, emergency clinicians, and even medical students and residents found themselves navigating new legal uncertainty in patient care and training. In 2025, federal efforts sought to curb gender-affirming care for minors through executive orders, subpoenas, funding cutoffs, and proposed Medicare rule changes. Some clinicians were left caught between conflicting state and federal obligations. Now, anticipated Medicaid funding cuts are compounding an already strained workforce.
Despite the strain, Jenny remains optimistic. She points to how health law attorneys helped providers stand up telehealth and navigate provider relief funds during the pandemic. Attorneys are now doing the same for new clinical restrictions and funding pressures, while life sciences colleagues support ongoing medical advances. She credits much of that outlook to AHLA. More than 20 years in the association, including seven on its Women's Leadership Council, have shown her the mentorship and community that keep the profession moving forward.
"Across the profession, health care attorneys have helped health care providers navigate a pandemic by monitoring and interpreting the flood of changing emergency regulations and agency guidance, and we helped them stand up telehealth services and understand the parameters of provider relief funds. With the recent pressures on certain types of care, we are helping health care providers understand new clinical restrictions and navigate the resulting patient care issues. And with the impending funding decreases and uncertainties, we are helping think through creative affiliations and other cost-saving ventures. Meanwhile, our life sciences colleagues are supporting providers and researchers who are making important advancements in health care. A recent article headline proclaimed, 'After Decades of Misunderstanding, Menopause is Finally Having Its Moment,' and there have been exciting reports of a landmark pancreatic cancer treatment. And that painful shingles vaccine I just received promises not only to prevent shingles but to lower my risk of dementia. Medicine continues to inspire."
Get in Touch
To learn more about this topic, contact Jennifer Nelson Carney at JNelsonCarney@ebglaw.com.
