The staffing squeeze: Why 2026 budgets can’t be static

Rihan Javid, D.O., J.D., lays out a blunt reality for practice leaders: if your 2026 budget assumes flat labor costs, you are already behind.

He says practices should be looking at three benchmarks when they plan: the statutory minimum wage, the true market wage for their region and a realistic “living wage” for their staff — which, in health care, often converges with market rates. Ignoring those numbers and hoping to hold the line on pay is a fast way to lose people.

Instead, he recommends building in room for raises from the start. Paying existing staff competitively is almost always cheaper than churning through candidates: interviewing, onboarding and training new hires over and over again. A flexible budget that anticipates upward pressure on wages, he argues, is both a retention strategy and a way to avoid blowing up your finances midyear.