This Week’s ATA Brief: AI Governance, State Policy, Rural Health Priorities, and more

For leaders making digital integral to how care is accessed, delivered, and scaled.

Dear ATA Community,

Hunter Young
Senior Policy Associate, State Affairs

OSF Healthcare

Inside OSF HealthCare’s Strategy To Cut ER Wait Times

OSF HealthCare is piloting virtual care rooms where patients with non-emergency needs are connected via high-resolution video carts to remote physicians for assessments, treatment planning, and follow-up, with immediate transfer to in-person emergency care if needed. Additionally, the system is deploying virtual behavioral health clinicians to ensure patients with mental health issues are seen within one hour, helping prioritize more urgent cases and reduce overall ER wait times. Read More »

National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA)

NCQA Forms AI Working Group for Health Plan, Provider Use of High-Risk AI

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has established an AI working group of over 30 health plans, provider organizations, and vendors to develop standards for governing and monitoring high-risk AI applications post-deployment. The group will define high-risk use cases, explore risk-based governance and performance measurement, and eventually produce tools or frameworks—ranging from toolkits to quality metric add-ons—to ensure transparency, safety, and accountability in AI’s use in healthcare. Read More »

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Why Cincinnati Children’s CEO Wants To Be Early With AI

Cincinnati Children’s CEO Dr. Steve Davis emphasized early and widespread AI adoption—from requiring “AI 101” training for all staff to rapid integration of tools like ChatGPT—to transform pediatric care and empower employees rather than replace them. He also noted concerns over AI vendors’ rising prices and emphasized the need to manage costs so innovation doesn’t drive up healthcare expenses. Read More »

This year’s Telehealth Awareness Week, September 14-20 comes at a pivotal moment for healthcare policy, and we’re shining a spotlight on how telehealth and digital health are transforming care delivery nationwide.

Events Lineup

• ATA Member Townhall Meeting
• Virtual Foodcare, Ideas into Action
• CODE Roundtable Webinar: A Data-Driven AI Strategy – Are You Ready to Lead
• Realizing the Value of Prescription Digital Therapeutics

• The Run-up to September Deadlines: ATA Policy Town Hall on Telehealth Flexibilities and Policy Priorities

Learn More and Register »

ATA Insights Summit | November 16–18 |  Orlando, FL

This Summit marks a return to our foundation—healthcare delivery organizations. The program is centered on immersive, high-priority Strategy Labs, each led by executives, clinicians, and system builders who are actively delivering care.

Reengineering the Inpatient Experience | Operationalizing Remote Patient Management | Smart Maternity Command Models | Expanding Access to Subspecialty Pediatric Care | Digitally Integrating Oncology Care Models

Instead of presentations or lectures, the Summit is designed for hands-on collaboration. Participants will roll up their sleeves to co-develop actionable frameworks, benchmarks, and implementation tools—practical outputs that can be put to work immediately to accelerate your digital transformation initiatives.

Our lineup features top health systems and CODE members such as MedStar Health, Ochsner Health, OSF Healthcare, Intermountain Health, UCHealth, WVU Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and more!

Upcoming SIG Meetings

• DTx Europe Policy
   Wednesday, September 10
   8:00 AM ET

• DTx Product Requirements
   Thursday, September 18
   11:00 AM ET

• Ocular Telehealth

   Thursday, October 2
   12:00 PM ET

• Digital Health Research

   Wednesday, October 8
   12:00 PM ET

ATA Action Takes Telehealth Priorities to the White House

Last week, ATA Action Executive Director Kyle Zebley and our federal policy advisor met with the White House Office of Public Liaison and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, to continue our ongoing discussions about the role of telehealth and digital health in transforming out healthcare system. The tone of the meeting was positive, constructive, and aligned with our objectives.

Key discussion points included:

• Preventing lapses in Medicare telehealth and Acute Hospital Care at Home flexibilities, currently set to expire at the end of September.
• Securing permanent policy on remote prescribing of controlled substances (buprenorphine prescribing extended through the end of the year). At their recommendation, we are requesting a follow-up meeting with the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
• Addressing concerns around the CMS “Box 32” provider address requirement, which would take effect in January 2026 and create burdens for providers and health systems.
• Building on President Trump’s early COVID-era telehealth flexibilities by advancing priorities such as AI in healthcare, digital therapeutics, and virtual foodcare.

Kyle also expressed our gratitude for two cornerstone provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) first-dollar telehealth coverage and the Rural Health Transformation Program.

The White House also reaffirmed its appreciation for the ATA and ATA Action as trusted partners in achieving shared goals to transform the U.S. healthcare system. The door remains open for continued engagement, and White House officials will be coordinating with peers across the Administration in response to our requests.

Rural Health Transformation Program

ATA Action continues to engage in public comment opportunities regarding the Rural Health Transformation Program in states across the country. This program, included in the One Big Beautiful Bill, will provide $50 billion to stabilize and strengthen rural hospitals and providers.

Many of the allowable activities in the funds align well with the ATA and ATA Action priorities. So far we have completed surveys or RFIs in Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, and Utah. Below is the current list of open opportunities and their deadlines:  

• Georgia, suggestions due August 29
• Pennsylvania, feedback due August 29
• Washington, input due August 29
• Wisconsin, RFI due September 3
• Oregon, comments due September 5
• Texas, survey due September 9
• North Dakota, survey deadline of September 12
• Nevada, survey due September 20
• North Carolina, currently no deadline

Latest From Our Advancing Digital Health Coalition

During the August meeting this week, members of our Advancing Digital Health Coalition discussed a wide range of updates across federal, state, and regulatory landscapes impacting digital health. Key topics included proposed comments on the 2026 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetic Devices, Prosthetics, Orthotics, & Supplies (DMEPOS) proposed rules, the federal funding outlook, state-level AI legislation, new remote monitoring code flexibilities, and evolving enforcement trends in health information privacy and cybersecurity.

To learn how your organization can get involved, contact Andy Molnar at amolnar@ataaction.org.

Office of the HHS National Coordinator for Health It (ONC) Proposes Digital Health Company Survey

The ONC is proposing a new survey of digital health companies that develop apps and health IT tools enabling human interaction with application programming interfaces (APIs), focused on compliance with information blocking and API “without special effort” policies. U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) estimates 282 companies will be surveyed and the average burden on each company will be 30 minutes.

Comments are requested regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including:

• The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency’s functions.
• The accuracy of the estimated burden.
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
• The use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Read the notice here. The deadline for submitting comments is September 25. Please contact Alexis Apple at aapple@ataaction.org or Lara Compton at lcompton@ataaction.org by August 29 if you would like ATA Action to consider submitting comments.

We will provide an update based on comments received at the next Advancing Digital Health Coalition meeting in September.

State Policy Updates

Pennsylvania AI Legislation Pending

Late last month, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators released a memo with intent for a bill to regulate the use of AI in healthcare, including provisions regarding bias and attestations from insurers and providers. ATA Action will be meeting the sponsor to learn more and discuss this legislation.

New York AI in Therapy Bill Introduced

Last week saw the introduction of New York S 8484 which would “regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the provision of therapy or psychotherapy services.” This bill is very similar to Illinois HB 1806 and includes many of the same shortcomings, such as a failure to exempt FDA-cleared applications. ATA Action is preparing to engage.

ATA Action Supported Illinois Physical Therapy Bill Signed Into Law

Earlier this month, Governor Pritzker signed SB 2153 into law, which was effective immediate, to expand the ability of providers to conduct initial evaluations via telehealth and remove requirements for providers to deliver in-person care in Illinois, instead allowing them to facilitate in-person care. ATA Action supported this legislation which rolled back regressive policy implemented in recent years.

September 10, 2025 | Online
ROI-Centered Care Virtual Summit: Building Innovative Access Strategies in Healthcare

Join ATA member TytoCare for the ROI-Centered Virtual Summit focused on empowering providers to lead the transformation of access in healthcare. Discover how leading organizations are building profitable and sustainable care delivery blueprints that align with both mission and margins.