Risk Never Sleeps Podcast – Episode #188

Title: AI Isn’t Optional: What Healthcare and Law Must Get Right Now
Host: Ed Gaudet (CEO and Founder, Censinet)
Guest: Carrie Nixon (Founder and Managing Partner, Nixon Law Group)
Date: January 13, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging conversation, host Ed Gaudet sits down with Carrie Nixon, Founder and Managing Partner of Nixon Law Group, to discuss the future of AI in healthcare and law, the looming risks to patient access, and strategies for navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. The discussion weaves together Nixon’s career journey, the current state and impact of AI adoption, the policy and funding challenges facing healthcare, and practical career advice for new professionals. Listeners get both high-level strategic perspective and authentic, personal insights.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Carrie Nixon’s Background and Path to Healthcare Law

[00:47–03:21]

• Carrie started her legal career in 2000 after experience on Capitol Hill, including a stint as assistant policy director for the House Caucus.
  • She became interested in health policy during the time Congress was advancing the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
  • After law school at UVA, she entered health law “because I thought, oh my gosh, this is interesting. I like this.” (B, [02:13])
• Founded Nixon Law Group in 2010, narrowing focus in 2016 to healthcare innovation and digital health.
  • “We serve all kinds of clients in that space and it’s really fun.” (B, [00:57])

2. Strategic Initiatives and the Central Role of AI

[03:51–06:35]

• Carrie emphasizes AI is the strategic focus:
  • “AI. AI. AI. Right. I am very optimistic about the use of AI in healthcare and the use of AI in law firms.” (B, [03:59])
  • The firm is focused on appropriate AI use, legal education for junior attorneys, and helping clients navigate emerging regulations.
• Real-world frustration with contract-review AI tools—they’re not yet sufficiently nuanced for specialized healthcare law contracts.
  • “They were not yet to the point where they were helpful for me... you only need this provision if it involves health care and I’m like, yeah, this whole contract involves healthcare.” (B, [05:09])
• Views AI as a thought partner for complex, multi-dimensional legal problems, not a replacement for legal expertise.
  • “The way that I like to engage with AI is to think through the really sticky problems... AI, through a lot of back and forth... can be incredibly helpful in coming up with a solution.” (B, [05:41])
  • Ed adds: “I love that. Using it as a thought partner versus a replacement for some type of event or activity.” (A, [06:16])

3. Healthcare’s Shifting Landscape: Funding, Telehealth, and Patient Impact

[07:04–08:54]

• Major concerns about Medicaid funding and ACA subsidies:
  • “Funding for Medicaid is a huge problem... those two things combined are going to impact literally millions of patients. And that’s really tough.” (B, [07:04])
• Lack of congressional action on permanent telehealth flexibilities is frustrating and disappointing:
  • “It is a bipartisan issue. Pass the legislation, just getting rid of this originating site and rural or underserved geography requirement and let’s do it... there was a significant decrease in Telehealth visits and that’s not good.” (B, [07:48])
• The persistent uncertainty from expiring temporary measures hinders progress and organizational health:
  • “Even though we keep having these extensions, who knows? There’s always a fear that maybe it won’t be extended. And we just need permanence. We really do.” (B, [08:44])

4. Personal Passions Outside the Law

[09:02–11:42]

• Carrie is passionate about music—plays violin, piano, sings, and is using the Simply Piano app to strengthen piano skills.
  • “Music is my happy place and I really find it important. Like, I’ve been very happy to have that sort of in my life again.” (B, [10:01])
• Shares her favorite karaoke song (“Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses) and tells the story of meeting her husband singing it at a D.C. café.
  • “It’s actually the song that my husband and I met over...” (B, [11:05])
  • Ed relates: “And I have the same birth dates as Slash. Month, day, year. Yeah, yeah.” (A, [11:58])

5. Career Wisdom, Risk, and Advice for the Next Generation

[14:39–19:09]

• Advice to her 20-year-old self: “Don’t be afraid to start something... My philosophy is we’re smart. Like even if no one has done it before, who better to figure it out, right?” (B, [14:42])
• Connection with founders: “That was my approach with the nonprofit that I started. That’s my approach with the law firm. It deeply influences how I serve founders and companies.” (B, [15:10])
• Regarding legal service value: Nixon Law Group stays efficient and specialized, “because it’s all that we do.” (B, [16:04])
• Riskiest thing she’s done: hiking Angels Landing in Zion National Park, especially alongside a tarantula mating season!
  • “That hike...there is a point at that hike...a chain that you’re holding onto and you are...it’s just a drop...Whenever I look back at that, I’m like, ooh, I don’t think I would do that again.” (B, [17:20])
• Advice to students considering law or healthcare:
  • “Do not go to law school just because you don’t know what else to do. That’s a very bad reason to go to law school...” (B, [17:58])
  • She encourages all young professionals—especially her daughter—to learn AI and how to use it to add value.
  • “I think those that know how to use AI effectively...they’re going to need to know how to do that.” (B, [18:53])

6. The Future of AI in Professional Practice

[19:08–19:54]

• Carrie strongly believes professionals must embrace AI—those who don’t risk being replaced by those who do.
  • “Doctors that refuse to use AI are going to be eliminated at some point by doctors who do. Same thing for lawyers, same thing for many.” (B, [19:29])
  • “Embrace it. Be aware of its flaws, right? For sure. Be aware of those things, but embrace it.” (B, [19:43])

Notable Quotes

• “I am very optimistic about the use of AI in healthcare and the use of AI in law firms.”
  — Carrie Nixon [03:59]

• “The way I like to engage with AI is to think through the really sticky problems that some of our clients face...AI, through a lot of back-and-forth...can be incredibly helpful.”
  — Carrie Nixon [05:41]

• “That hike...there is a point...a chain that you’re holding onto and...it’s just a drop. Whenever I look back at that, I’m like, ooh, I don’t think I would do that again.”
  — Carrie Nixon, on risky experiences [17:20]

• “Doctors that refuse to use AI are going to be eliminated at some point by doctors who do. Same thing for lawyers, same thing for many...Embrace it. Be aware of its flaws...but embrace it.”
  — Carrie Nixon [19:29–19:43]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:47–03:21 — Nixon’s professional journey; how she got into health law
• 03:51–06:35 — Why AI is front and center for the future of law and healthcare; current applications and frustrations
• 07:04–08:54 — The dangers inherent to current U.S. health policy uncertainty (Medicaid/telehealth)
• 09:02–11:42 — Carrie’s passion for music and how karaoke led to meeting her husband
• 14:39–19:09 — Career risk-taking, mentorship advice, and founder empathy
• 19:08–19:54 — Adapt or risk irrelevance: the professional imperative to embrace AI

Memorable Moments

• The lively back-and-forth about karaoke songs and the story of Carrie meeting her husband through a Guns N’ Roses performance [11:05].
• Policy frustrations about Congress’s inertia on telehealth, with Carrie calling it “an absolute no brainer” [07:48].
• The memorable description of hiking Angels Landing and braving tarantulas the size of the bus [17:20].

Bottom Line

Carrie Nixon delivers a clear message:
AI is not optional for those in healthcare or law. The future belongs to those who not only adopt AI tools but use them intelligently as partners in solving multidimensional problems. At the same time, fundamentals like patient access, telehealth policy, and steady funding remain ever-pressing and can materially affect millions. Nixon encourages both seasoned professionals and newcomers to take risks, create opportunities, and remain open to change—because, as the show says, “risk never sleeps.”