Private Chat Room Guides AI Health Policy Behind Closed Doors

A small group of tech bosses and government officials spent a year planning a big push. They wanted everyday people to use artificial intelligence for their medical care. This effort moved quickly and stayed hidden from the public eye. The aim is to get the nation to rely on apps for managing health records and getting advice.

Major companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft got special access to the process. In February, officials asked them to discuss chatbots designed for patients. At least thirty-five industry groups attended this discussion. Usually, the FDA handles rules for health apps. Yet this meeting did not appear on any public schedule. Invitations went out through a private messaging platform instead.

Some lawyers believe this arrangement breaks standard rules. It looks like an official advisory panel, which normally must operate openly. Government workers did not announce the chat room through official legal channels. A policy adviser named Morgan Taylor wrote messages inviting businesses to help shape rules. Messages show that top leaders, including a former efficiency official named Amy Gleason, were involved in the talks.

Publicly, leaders say this plan helps patients get better care. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said companies should be allowed to test ideas in a government-backed space. Another leader, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., praised AI, saying it knows more than most doctors. There is also a new app library for Medicare users that lists only a few dozen commercial tools. The promise is that people get easier access to their own data.

Doctors are not fully convinced by this approach. They worry that patients might share private information with software that is not ready. John Whyte from the medical association said there is no clear rule if these tools make mistakes. When asked about the private chat room, health officials did not answer questions about whether it was legal.