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DigiCure: AI & American Health – What’s Changing Now?

Legal insights at the intersection of Technology and Life Sciences and Health Care

18 September 2025

Speaking on The Influencers Digital Transformation podcast, Hogan Lovells partners Melissa Bianchi and Cybil Roehrenbeck join Leo von Gerlach to unpack how U.S. federal AI initiatives are reshaping health care. They explore the government's digital health ecosystem, the CMS interoperability framework, and the balance between innovation and privacy. This episode delivers practical insights into both the regulatory hurdles and the business opportunities in the fast-evolving world of AI in healthcare.

Cybil Roehrenbeck, partner in the Hogan Lovells government relations & public affairs practice and co-head of the HL health care lobbying practice, said it's “all systems go” from the U.S. federal government in their efforts to promote innovation in artificial intelligence. Roehrenbeck described how the White House AI Action Plan from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) articulates the Trump administration's policy recommendations to foster development of new AI technology. She also provided background on how federal legislation is promoting AI through sizeable funding allocations, with a focus on the use of new technologies by both the government and in the private sector.

Echoing the theme of collaboration between the U.S. government and the private sector, Melissa Bianchi, partner in the Hogan Lovells health regulatory practice and leader of the HL global digital health team, described how the U.S. health tech initiative focuses in part on public-private partnerships to develop digital health tools for patients. She forecast that AI would become a key part of many of the tools the government is contemplating.

Asked about other Health and Human Services (HHS) Department efforts to promote new technology, Roehrenbeck explained how the U.S. government has been advancing interoperability for many years, describing how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Tech Ecosystem initiative will ultimately encourage the development of wearables, especially in the heart disease and diabetes therapeutic arenas.

Roehrenbeck and Bianchi further discussed how government policies exist at this intersection of competing concerns: the goal of protecting patient privacy, and the desire to make data more accessible. They cautioned health care providers, platform operators, and payment providers – as well as stakeholders in all parts of the health technology process – to perform their due diligence when participating in a health care data space or using AI tools that access patient data.

Listen to the entire episode of The Influencers podcast online here, and ensure you are subscribed to Our Thinking to receive new insights as part of the DigiCure series!

This podcast is the first in our new thought leadership series, “DigiCure: Legal insights at the intersection of Technology and Life Sciences and Health Care,” which aims to help you stay informed about the broad array of legal and regulatory issues affecting companies operating at the intersection of the technology and life sciences & health care sectors. From using AI in clinical studies, to evolving patient data concerns, to the entire digital health product lifecycle, our team will discuss novel issues arising in all parts of the world, including unique deal-making, litigation, and compliance concerns. Ensure you are subscribed to Our Thinking to receive these new insights!