Advancing Policies That Support Responsible AI-Enabled Care
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how health care is delivered, creating opportunities to expand clinical capacity, improve patient engagement, and support more efficient and personalized care. AI-enabled technologies can support clinicians in managing chronic conditions, identifying changes in patient health, coordinating care, and making informed clinical decisions.
AI-enabled care represents a natural evolution of connected care, building on advances in telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and other technology-enabled services. However, existing federal payment and regulatory structures were largely developed before these capabilities emerged and may create unnecessary barriers to their adoption.
The Alliance for Connected Care supports a modern, technology-neutral policy framework that enables AI-enabled capabilities to be integrated into existing medical services while maintaining appropriate clinical oversight, patient safety, and accountability.
State of Play
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are increasingly examining how AI can be responsibly incorporated into clinical care and federal health programs.
In December 2025, HHS issued an AI in Clinical Care Request for Information, seeking input on how federal policies can support the responsible development and adoption of AI in health care.
In February 2026, the Alliance submitted comments urging HHS to modernize federal payment and regulatory policies to support AI-enabled care. The Alliance emphasized that federal policies should focus on patient outcomes, accountability, and program integrity rather than the specific technologies used to deliver care.
In March 2026, the Alliance also urged CMS to recognize AI-enabled care as an extension of existing medical services and modernize Medicare reimbursement to better reflect clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.
In October 2026, the Alliance submitted comments to FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health on its discussion paper on generative AI-enabled medical devices. The Alliance urged FDA to take a function-based, risk-proportionate approach, preserve the distinction between regulated medical-device functions and non-device AI-enabled care delivery, make use of real-world evidence, and clarify shared responsibilities among model developers, manufacturers, and health care organizations.
As federal policymakers consider new approaches to AI oversight and reimbursement, it will be important to avoid repeating the policy barriers that have historically limited the expansion of telehealth and remote patient monitoring.
AI-enabled care is the next evolution of connected care.
Just as telehealth and remote patient monitoring have transformed where and how care is delivered, AI-enabled capabilities have the potential to further expand access to health care services and support clinicians in delivering more efficient, responsive, and personalized care.
Key Policy Considerations
The Alliance has identified several opportunities for federal policymakers to support responsible AI-enabled care:
- Integrating AI into existing medical services: Allow clinicians to incorporate AI-enabled capabilities into established care delivery models when clinically appropriate, rather than creating unnecessary new regulatory or payment categories.
- Modernizing reimbursement: Address rigid time-based reimbursement requirements that may not reflect the clinical value of AI-enabled care, and better align payment with medical decision-making and patient outcomes.
- Advancing outcome-based care: Support innovative models, including Advanced Primary Care Management (APCM) and the ACCESS Model, that reward longitudinal care management and measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
- Supporting responsible innovation: Establish flexible, risk-based regulatory approaches and explore regulatory sandboxes that allow new care models to be evaluated under appropriate safeguards.
- Removing longstanding barriers to connected care: Modernize telehealth and remote monitoring policies to ensure that existing restrictions do not impede the integration of AI-enabled clinical services.
- Right-sizing FDA oversight: Regulate AI-enabled functions based on intended use, degree of autonomy, and clinical risk, not on whether generative AI is used, and weigh the risks of the technology against the risks of patients not getting care.
Alliance Advocacy and Resources
The Alliance actively engages with Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other policymakers to advance policies supporting AI-enabled care.
February 23, 2026 – Alliance Urges HHS to Modernize Payment and Regulation to Support Responsible AI-Enabled Care
The Alliance submitted comments in response to HHS’s AI in Clinical Care Request for Information, urging a modern, technology-neutral regulatory and payment framework. The recommendations focus on strengthening virtual care foundations, integrating AI into existing medical services, modernizing reimbursement, and enabling responsible innovation.
March 13, 2026 – Alliance Calls on CMS to Modernize Telehealth Policy and Expand Access to Virtual Care
The Alliance urged CMS to modernize Medicare payment and care delivery policies, including recognizing AI-enabled care as an extension of existing medical services, reducing dependence on rigid time-based reimbursement, and supporting innovative regulatory approaches.
Read the Alliance’s Recommendations
Looking Ahead
AI-enabled care offers an opportunity to advance a more accessible, efficient, and patient-centered health care system. Realizing this potential will require policies that support innovation while preserving meaningful clinical oversight, accountability, and patient protection.
The Alliance’s advocacy will focus on ensuring that emerging regulatory and reimbursement approaches enable responsible innovation, support clinician-led care, protect patients, and avoid unnecessary barriers to the adoption of technologies that can improve access and health outcomes.
For more information or to engage with the Alliance on AI-enabled care policy, contact rikki.cheung@connectwithcare.org.