The AI Now Institute published a report on April 21, 2026, warning that gig-work platforms marketed as staffing solutions for healthcare are lobbying state legislatures to rewrite the rules that govern nursing agencies, according to the institute’s press release.
The report, titled Uber for Nursing Part II, names Clipboard Health, ShiftKey, CareRev, and IntelyCare as the main platforms reshaping how hospitals and long-term care facilities fill shifts. According to AI Now, the ten most prominent gig nursing platforms have raised roughly $1.4 billion in total funding. ShiftKey is valued at $2 billion; Clipboard Health at $1.3 billion.
Researchers say the platforms’ AI-driven pricing systems, performance surveillance tools, and contractor classification practices are creating a new category of gig work that shares structural features with rideshare platforms — and may be on a similar path toward regulatory conflict.
The report documents that since 2022, lawmakers in at least 17 states have introduced bills to define gig nursing platforms as a new type of business subject to different regulation than conventional healthcare staffing agencies. In an additional 8 states, policymakers have already carved platform work out of certain state laws. According to AI Now, five platforms — CareRev, Clipboard Health, KARE Technologies, Nursa, and ShiftKey — have lobbied for such bills across multiple states.
The platforms argue, according to the report, that because their model relies on algorithmic management technologies, it falls outside the scope of regulations designed for traditional healthcare staffing agencies. The report draws a parallel to Uber’s earlier strategy of arguing it was a technology platform rather than a transportation company, which allowed it to avoid regulations covering taxi operators in dozens of states.
AI Now’s researchers argue the stakes in healthcare are higher than in rideshare. The report warns that the deregulatory push could leave nurses with less pay, fewer labor protections, and less control over their schedules, while also exposing patients to gaps in oversight.
The full report, authored by Katie J. Wells, Maya Pinto, and Funda Ustek Spilda, is available from AI Now Institute. The Guardian also reported on its findings.