According to predictions from industry stakeholders, this year could represent an inflection point for real-world utilization of artificial intelligence, and standards could raise for health data privacy and cybersecurity. Funding will continue to be available for startups this year, and the telehealth industry will be held to higher clinical standards as it’s used more frequently in care delivery.

This is a reversal from several years ago, when more Medicare Advantage beneficiaries switched to traditional Medicare, a recent report found. Medicare Advantage has grown in popularity over the last several years.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress are continuing to support the rollout of the agency’s new electronic health record system, even as lawmakers remain concerned about the project’s cost and effectiveness.

A major end-of-the-year spending package released early Monday only gave partial relief to physicians seeking to get rid of a 4.5% pay cut set to go into effect next year, amid other major health policy reforms. 

The agency’s Chief Information Officer Kurt DelBene said it would appoint new staff as part of a wider scheme to hire 1000 new employees within its Office of Information and Technology. The scheme will be used to hire new staff to work on technology transformation across a range of areas including the EHR program.

The CMS has increasingly been aligning itself with health equity initiatives as the Biden administration heightens its healthcare oversight into social issues. Its proposed standards released Tuesday are an attempt to further the administration’s “goals of advancing health equity by addressing the health disparities that underlie our health system,” according to the agency.

Big-name systems like Cleveland Clinic and NorthShore have cracked the seal on charges for certain patient portal queries. Though the new policies drew swift pushback from consumers and transparency groups, a successful rollout could see more provider organizations follow their example.

As other health systems across the nation are doing, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)—the country’s largest integrated health system—is finding its way in adapting to include telehealth and other digital health solutions so that it can deliver care in the most efficient and effective way for patients.

During his remarks on lowering costs for American families, President Biden announced that the number of new enrollees who have signed up for high-quality, affordable health insurance on HealthCare.Gov is up almost 40% compared to the same time last year. 

Forty-six senators have signed a letter to Senate leaders Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., expressing serious concerns regarding the stability of Medicare payments for physicians and support for bipartisan, long-term payment reform.