The Next 4 Years Could Be Interesting for Digital Health Policy

By Eric Wicklund

At a time when the nation is divided and combative, can digital health bridge that gap and bring both sides together? And could this help healthcare leaders plot a path forward for new ideas like AI, Hospital at Home, and wearables?

The idea was hinted at during a digital health policy panel Tuesday at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. Moderated by Catherine Pugh, the Consumer Technology Association’s Director of Digital Health, the panel tossed about the idea that digital health may have enough support on both sides of the aisle to see some good policy wins during the upcoming four years of the Trump Administration.

“This is a bipartisan issue,” said John Quinn, Legislative Director for the Office of U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-Arizona). And there aren’t many of them around.

Quinn, along with panelists Stephanie Fiore, director of Digital Health Policy for Elevance Health, and Susan Kirsh, MD, MPH, Deputy Assistant Under Secretary for Health for the Department of Veteran Affairs’ DEAN portfolio, listed several topics that are likely to play a prominent role in healthcare policy over the next four years, including AI, telehealth, data interoperability, consumer privacy and CMS reimbursement.

As Fiore noted, “telehealth is a big deal,” but at the same time it’s “an expensive policy.”

AI could be the driving force in this argument. Kirsh, who’s involved with most of the digital health and telehealth strategies followed by the VA—the nation’s largest telehealth network—pointed out that AI has made some significant strides in reducing administrative workflows and reducing stress on clinicians, and is just now being integrated into clinical pathways.

“There is an incredible amount of opportunity in the clinical space,” she said.

The key for health system and hospital CIOs, CTOs, Chief Digital Health Officers and others is a comprehensive policy and standards that allow healthcare leaders to use AI safely and securely, and not be bogged down by administrative details that push clinicians away from the technology.

The same goes for telehealth and digital health. Quinn spoke of the potential of wearables to help both consumers and their care providers monitor health outside the doctor’s office, and Kirsh talked of the advances in augmented and virtual reality that allow clinicians to better experience what their patients are going through and to better prepare new doctors and nurses for the workforce.

The hangup is reimbursement. Clinicians won’t use this technology if they’re not supported by payers, especially Medicare. And the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been slow to advance new reimbursements and permissions because of the cost. Quinn noted both they and the Congressional Budget Office often have a hard time seeing the long-term benefits in health and wellness for those new technologies.

“We need to close the gap with CMS on reimbursements,” he said, “and make innovation legal.”

And for at least the next two years, he added, those agencies will be faced by a Congress controlled by one party in both the House and Senate. In the past, he said, they tend to listen more intently when that happens.

Fiore spoke of the advances in technology giving consumers access to (and more control over) their data. She sees the next four years as a pivotal time for consumer privacy and security policy, and while the federal government has struggled to pass legislation on consumer protections, more and more states are taking action on their level.

Quinn, referencing the recent spate of cybersecurity incidents, especially the Change Healthcare debacle, agreed.

“The unfortunate reality is that data is not private right now.”

And a new administration that prides itself on the strength of the private sector could make that a priority.

Unfortunately, the path ahead for digital health policy isn’t clear-cut. Nothing happening in Washington these days is easy to predict. Quinn noted that many healthcare-related provisions in the original 1,500-page end-of-year budget bill were removed, and that the final, 150-page bill that was passed by Congress contained few healthcare gains.

That said, the panelists are expecting a lot of movement on policy in the future.

“Healthcare is, whether you like it or not, going to be a central part of the conversation,” Quinn said.

Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation at HealthLeaders.