AI, Tech Leaders Are Lobbying Trump Health Officials in a Government

Key Points:

• A group of elite tech leaders, financiers, and former Trump officials have spent a year quietly promoting AI-powered health apps to manage Americans' healthcare and medical records, with federal health agencies granting these companies unusual influence over AI healthcare policy.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a private, unpublicized meeting with major tech firms like Microsoft, Apple, and Google to discuss conversational AI health products, while a Slack workspace of 1,700 members, including industry representatives and few patient advocates, has served as a behind-the-scenes forum for shaping AI healthcare initiatives.
• CMS officials have promoted the Medicare App Library as a trusted distribution channel for AI health apps, encouraging companies to develop profitable solutions reimbursable by Medicare, despite concerns from doctors about the apps’ readiness, data use, and lack of liability.
• Tech companies have lobbied for AI health apps to access patients’ sensitive medical records through the national TEFCA network with minimal regulation, arguing apps should be treated like patients in accessing data, while some experts warn about privacy and security risks.
• CMS and HHS officials emphasize their goal of increasing patient access to digital health tools and medical records without formal rulemaking or regulation, fostering collaboration with industry to rapidly advance AI integration into healthcare despite ongoing concerns about oversight and patient safety.