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People
VA’s top tech and AI official announces departure
VA Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer Charles Worthington, who first joined the agency in 2017, said in a LinkedIn post that “the time is right for me to step down” from the agency.
Artificial Intelligence
AI ‘nihilism’ is a barrier to better health care, CMS lead says
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the agency has had internal discussions about introducing an agentic AI tool “for every beneficiary.”
Digital Government
CMS touts early uses of new biometric verification tools for Medicare.gov
Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and strategic advisor to CMS, said 60% of accounts created since the rollout “have all been using one of these modern credentials.”
Emerging Tech
VA’s early uses of robots have shown mixed success, but excitement remains
Early uses of robots across VA hospitals have highlighted the promises and drawbacks of the technologies, but they have also shown the capabilities these tools can offer clinicians, according to Acting Chief Innovation Officer Beth Ripley.
Cybersecurity
Trump’s new cyber strategy details more offensive response to cyber threats
“Unlike other Administrations, the Trump Administration will not tinker at the edges and apply partial measures and ambiguous strategies that neglect the growing number and severity of cyber threats,” the strategy said.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: quantum computing research; AI workforce development; and more
Lawmakers introduced measures this week to criminalize AI-generated impersonation, modernize NOAA’s weather radio system and create a nationwide network of cloud-enabled laboratories.
Policy
Lawmakers raise questions about security of health data shared with AI tools
“I do think there's some consumer safeguards that should be implemented,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said about the way AI firms may apply users’ healthcare data.
Artificial Intelligence
VA is increasingly looking to AI to enhance claims processing
The department is planning to broaden its machine learning-powered Automated Decision Support tool to cover more types of claims.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: Updated AI innovation; expanding cybersecurity for SNAP; and more
This week’s legislation addresses cybersecurity measures for EBT cards, pushes universal AI testing standards forward, and strengthens oversight of tech education programming for veterans.
People
DOJ elevates deputy CIO to top IT role
Nikki Collier had been serving as the acting CIO since Melinda Rogers left the role last year, according to the CIO Council’s website.
Digital Government
House Democrats say TrumpRx portal exaggerates prescription discounts
Despite the White House’s claim that the platform offers the world’s lowest prices on prescriptions, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a report saying “for nearly half of the drugs listed on TrumpRx, that is either misleading or completely false.”
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Artificial Intelligence
Targeted AI adoption can drive change, current and former officials say
Agencies “don't need the fanciest AI model on the marketplace” to enhance their customer-facing operations, according to former VA Chief Experience Officer John Boerstler.
Digital Government
Labor launches new open data portal
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the new portal features “better integration with other federal data sources and enhanced artificial intelligence compatibility for finding, visualizing and using data.”
People
HHS IT leadership experiences additional shakeup
Six of the eight top officials in the department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer are now holding at least one role in an acting capacity.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: AI science challenge; protecting copyright content; and more
Many of this week’s proposals that deal with AI copyright material protections, tech for methane detection and environmental permitting modernization have bipartisan backing.
People
OMB is hiring for a deputy federal chief information officer
“If you know how to run large systems, cut through noise, and turn strategy into execution across government scale, this is that job,” Federal CIO Gregory Barbaccia said about the search for his deputy.
Modernization
VA takes initial steps to create a centralized database of veteran research info, official says
The department has created an internal working group to look at “developing a singular database where we can capture veteran enrollment data in real time,” according to Liza Catucci, VA’s acting director of health systems research.
Artificial Intelligence
CMS built a waitlist for its AI chatbot — and that drove momentum — official says
The approach helped the agency get more targeted insights from those familiar with the emerging capabilities.
Policy
Tech bills of the week: Restricting biometric use; expanding the quantum workforce; and more
Congress avoided a second mini-shutdown and saw a return-to-normal influx of new tech bills.
Artificial Intelligence
VA’s latest AI inventory includes new suicide, EHR-focused use cases
Seventy-two of the AI use cases previously included in the department’s 2024 inventory were listed as retired, meaning that their “development and/or use has since been discontinued.”
