Digital Health Blog

On December 19, the Department of Health and Human Services released a Request for Information (RFI) on Accelerating the Adoption and Use of Artificial Intelligence as part of Clinical Care. Specifically, HHS is looking for feedback on the how clinicians currently use AI and barriers to doing so. HHS intends to review the feedback to support its approaches to regulation, reimbursement and research and development for future rulemaking. While the agency has been engaging with stakeholders and utilizing its own AI broadly, this is the first major effort focused on clinical care and reimbursement, which has been a large issue as it relates to adoption. Comments are due February 21, 2026. For more information or support to comment, please contact our Hooper, Lundy and Bookman Digital Health Team.

On December 11, President Trump signed the Ensuring A National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, an Executive Order designed to further his Administration’s effort to preempt state regulation of artificial intelligence and challenge state laws in the space through enforcement actions by a multiagency review task force operating under the Attorney General. The order directs the Department of Justice to create an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state-level regulations and calls for a 90-day review by the Commerce Department to identify laws that could restrict innovation or affect federal funding. For health care organizations, this could impact telemedicine, data governance, and state oversight of AI tools. Read the full article: The Trump Executive Order on AI Regulation: Key Takeaways for the Health Care Industry

On December 15, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), announced the U.S. Tech Force. This new program will recruit 1,000 top engineers, data scientists, and technology leaders for two-year assignments across federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to modernize systems and strengthen U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. Backed by more than 25 private-sector partners—including Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services, and OpenAI, each department will do their own hiring based on size and need.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its vision for a consolidated data infrastructure, “OneHHS,” to support artificial intelligence (AI) across its agencies. The plan, developed in response to a presidential executive order, outlines five key goals: improving tech governance, enhancing system design, training staff in AI, advancing health research, and delivering better patient outcomes. The strategy aims to centralize data and provide shared tools internally at HHS for computing, model hosting, and AI management, enabling faster drug approvals, fraud prevention, and streamlined grant reviews.

On December 1, the House of Representatives passed the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (H.R. 4313), as amended, a bipartisan bill that would extend the Medicare hospital at home program for five years to enable hospitals to provide acute inpatient care while they remain in their homes through the use of telehealth and remote monitoring. The program currently expires along with other extenders on January 30, 2026. This legislation, if passed by the Senate, would extend the program through September 30, 2030.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) announced the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model, which will run for 10 years nationwide. The voluntary model will focus on a payment approach designed to expand access to technology-support care in patients with chronic conditions. ACCESS will initially have four tracks—early cardio-kidney-metabolic, cardio-kidney-metabolic, musculoskeletal, and behavioral health. A detailed FAQ is available now, and a Request for Applications is expected in the coming weeks.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) appears to be preparing to extend, for the fourth time, the telehealth flexibilities that allow clinicians to prescribe controlled substances without an initial in-person visit—a policy originally introduced during the COVID-19 public health emergency. According to a notice currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the rule titled “Fourth Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” signals that these provisions will remain in place beyond their current expiration date of December 31, 2025.

Last night (November 10), the Senate voted 60-40 on a measure to fund the government through January 30. The House of Representatives has been called back and could vote on the measure as early as Wednesday. The bill is likely to pass in the House despite some pushback. After final passage in the House, President Trump will quickly sign it into law and reopen the government later this week. The bill retroactively extends health care extensions through January 30 including telehealth waivers.

While CMS finalized a number of telehealth policies in the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) (see below), it did not include a prior telehealth provider enrollment flexibility that is set to expire December 31, 2025.

Previously, in the 2024 and 2025 PFS final rules, CMS stated that through CY 2025 it would permit a distant site practitioner to use their currently enrolled practice location instead of their home address when providing telehealth services from their home. In the most recent CY 2026 PFS, however, CMS did not include language extending this flexibility for practitioners. This change has been estimated by an industry association to “result in up to a fortyfold increase in the number of billing addresses tracked and reported to CMS by a health system,” and may add significant operational costs.

In response to privacy concerns raised by commenters, CMS noted that it has provided information on how to suppress street address details as providers. In addition, the agency noted that any updates related to the policy will be issued via subregulatory guidance. We’ll continue to monitor and provide updates.

On October 31, 2025, CMS released the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) which sets payment policies for the upcoming year. CMS is finalizing the following telehealth policies:

• Permanently removing frequently limitations for subsequent inpatient visits, subsequent nursing facility visits, and critical care consultations;
• Permanently adopting a definition of direct supervision that allows physicians/supervising practitioner to provide supervision via real-time audio and visual interactive telecommunications;
• Permanently allowing teaching physicians to have a virtual presence in teaching settings in clinical instances;
• Adding several services to the Medicare Telehealth Services List, such as multiple-family group psychotherapy; and
• Modifying the process to add services to the Medicare Telehealth Services List

CMS is also finalizing other digital health policies, including expanding access to digital mental health treatment (DMHT) devices to include payment for devices used in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Additionally, CMS is reviewing responses on comment solicitation regarding separate coding and payment for services describing digital tools used by practitioners as part of a mental health treatment plan of care.