HIMSS25: What’s happening nationally and globally with telehealth, AI and cybersecurity

Tom Leary, senior vice president and head of Government Relations at HIMSS, talks to reporters during HIMSS25.

Photo: Susan Morse/Healthcare Finance News, HIMSS

LAS VEGAS – Republicans are expected to release the text of a spending bill as soon as this weekend, ahead of a March 14 deadline, according to Politico.

The stopgap measure would avoid a government shutdown.

A budget blueprint calls for $880 billion in spending cuts from the Energy and Commerce Committee. While it doesn’t specifically mention Medicaid, cuts to the program are expected.

Tom Leary, senior vice president and head of Government Relations for HIMSS, said at HIMSS25 here that he’s not expecting the cuts to be as drastic as what’s been mentioned, which is up to the full $880 billion.

Also not known is whether the bill will include an extension of telehealth and remote patient monitoring flexibilities, which expire on March 31. HIMSS has supported a permanent extension for telehealth and remote patient monitoring for years, Leary said. 

Remote patient monitoring allows patient care to be done in the home. 

“We’re hearing confidence telehealth will be extended,” Leary said. 

There’s support on both sides of the aisle, he said.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty where the Trump administration is headed,” Leary said.

Other key focus areas for HIMSS for the year, said Leary, include a global perspective on AI, responsible use of AI, cybersecurity, digital health transformation and workforce.

There’s the bigger picture of what’s happening in the rest of the world and how it affects the United States. The European Union passed an AI framework, which global companies will use, Leary said. Global corporations are not interested in building different frameworks for different countries, he said.

The same is true for cybersecurity. The EU has passed cybersecurity legislation.

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org