HHS and CMS Announce New Healthcare Advisory Committee. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the members of the newly-formed Healthcare Advisory Committee, a federal advisory body focused on improving the delivery of care across Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Committee will provide non-binding recommendations to inform federal health care policy and program administration related to managing chronic disease, advancing safety and outcomes, reducing administrative burden, expanding the use of real-time data in care and operations, and enhancing care for vulnerable populations. The first meeting will be held later this year. Meeting notices and opportunities for public engagement will be published in the Federal Register and on the CMS website.
White House Releases National AI Policy Framework. The White House released “A National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” outlining both policy and legislative recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The Framework identifies seven principles, which are: (i) Protect children; (ii) Safeguard and strengthen communities; (iii) Support creators; (iv) Protect free speech; (v) Enable innovation; (vi) Develop an AI-ready workforce; and (vii) Establish a federal policy that will preempt state AI laws. Recommendations that could impact the health care industry address establishing regulatory sandboxes for AI development, providing resources to make federal datasets accessible in AI-ready formats, incorporating AI into education and workforce training, and preempting state AI laws.
CMS Announces ASPIRE Model for Children with Complex Medical Needs. The CMS Innovation Center announced the launch of its newest accountable care organization model called the Accelerating State Pediatric Innovation Readiness and Effectiveness Model (ASPIRE). The model aims to help children up to age 21 with complex medical and behavioral needs through care delivery in Medicaid and CHIP. CMS plans to select up to five state Medicaid agencies to take part in the voluntary model through a cooperative agreement. A Notice of Funding Opportunity is expected to be released in 2026. ASPIRE intends to continue lessons learned from the Integrated Care for Kids Model.
ASTP/ONC and CMS Announce Testing Roadmap for Prior Authorization. The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and CMS announced a collaborative approach to electronic prior authorization testing in 2026. The goal of the collaboration is to support broad implementation, improve readiness across the ecosystem, and help reduce burden for providers, payers, and patients. The collaborative testing will focus on pre-production testing and engagement and conformance testing. Planned activities include provider-side and payer-side testing of Da Vinci Implementation Guides v2.0.1 using the Inferno Testing Tool and a virtual US Realm Connectathon on March 31–April 1. Subscribe to ASTP/ONC email updates here.
HHS Urges Health Care Industry to Strengthen Cyber Defenses Due to Elevated Threats. HHS urged the health care industry at-large to strengthen cyber defenses and remain vigilant due to elevated risks by cyber threat actors. Organizations are encouraged to leverage the Healthcare and Public Health Cybersecurity Performance Goals, which are a voluntary subset of cybersecurity practices that can be used to prioritize cyber preparedness, improve cyber resiliency, and protect patient health information and safety. HHS and its federal partners are closely monitoring threat activity. Incidents can be reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Internet Crime Complain Center and local field offices and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Incident Reporting System or 1-844-Say-CISA (1-844-729-2472).
CMS to Host Town Hall on Claims Attachments Final Rule. CMS is holding a Town Hall on Tuesday, March 31 from 1-2:30 pm ET on the recently published Adoption of Standards for Health Care Attachment Transactions and Electronic Signatures Final Rule. Registration for the Town Hall is not required. The event can be accessed through the following link: Join the Town Hall Here. Attendees can submit questions in advance at: administrativesimplification@cms.hhs.gov.
CISA Issues Warning on Endpoint Management System Hardening After Cyberattack. CISA issued a warning following a cyberattack that targeted endpoint management systems of Stryker Corporation and is recommending that organizations harden these configurations. CISA is working with federal partners, including the FBI, to identify additional threats and necessary steps for mitigation. To prevent similar attacks, CISA urges organizations implement Microsoft’s newly released best practices for securing Microsoft Intune, in addition to using the principles of least privilege and enforce phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication and privileged access hygiene.
X12 Announces 008060 Education/Information Series. X12 announced the first webinar in its new 008060 education/information series scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, at 3:30 pm ET focused the Health Care Eligibility/Benefit Inquiry and Information Response (270/271). Registration is now open. The sessions will be available via live webinars and on-demand presentations. The series aims to educate industry stakeholders on the updates in the version 008060 standards. Additional sessions are being scheduled for the Health Care Claim Payment/Advice (835) and Health Care Professional, Institutional, and Dental Claims (837).