White House, tech leaders commit to rebuilding health care system

WASHINGTON – The White House and CMS have secured commitments from major health care and information technology firms – including Amazon, Anthropic, Apple, Google and OpenAI – to begin laying the foundation for a next-generation digital health ecosystem that they say will improve patient outcomes, reduce provider burden and drive value. 

“For decades, bureaucrats and entrenched interests buried health data and blocked patients from taking control of their health,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “That ends today. We’re tearing down digital walls, returning power to patients and rebuilding a health system that serves the people. This is how we begin to Make America Healthy Again.” 

The administration’s efforts focus on two broad areas: 

• Promoting a CMS Interoperability Framework to easily and seamlessly share information between patients and providers; and 

• Increasing the availability of personalized tools so that patients have the information and resources they need to make better health decisions.    

At a recent White House event, CMS unveiled voluntary criteria for trusted, patient-centered and practical data exchange that will be accessible for all network types—health information networks and exchanges, Electronic Health Records (EHR) and tech platforms. 

The agency says more than 60 companies have pledged to work collaboratively to deliver results in the first quarter of 2026. Twenty-one networks pledged to meet the CMS Interoperability Framework criteria to become CMS Aligned Networks. Eleven health systems or providers committed to participate and support patient use, and seven EHRs committed to facilitate data exchange.  

In addition, 30 companies have pledged to promote real health outcomes with technology over the coming months. The new tools will use secure digital identity credentials to obtain medical records from CMS Aligned Networks that meet the agency's data sharing criteria. The apps will assist in the delivery of key services to beneficiaries, including:  

• Diabetes and obesity management; 

• The use of conversational AI assistants to help patients check symptoms, navigate care options, and schedule appointments, among other tasks; and 

• Tools to “kill the clipboard” by replacing paper intake forms with seamless digital check-in methods; and more. 

“We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “For too long, patients in this country have been burdened with a healthcare system that has not kept pace with the disruptive innovations that have transformed nearly every other sector of our economy. With the commitments made by these entrepreneurial companies today, we stand ready for a paradigm shift in the U.S. healthcare system for the benefit of patients and providers.” 

• For the latest information on CMS’ Health Tech Ecosystem initiative visit here. 

• An introductory video on CMS’ Health Tech Ecosystem initiative can be viewed here.