ANALYSIS: Health Apps Face Privacy Problems in New CMS Ecosystem

In September, the Trump administration launched the Health Technology Ecosystem, which will gather user health information from patient-facing apps, CMS-aligned networks, and other health care industry players to promote interoperability and enable information sharing for patients and providers.

The Ecosystem’s baseline privacy protections for patient-facing health apps will likely fall short of consumer expectations around health data privacy. Despite this disconnect, incentives to join—like the opportunities to access patient health data and to partake in AI-driven app innovation—will drive participation and could boost innovation in health tech in 2026. But public pressure in the shadow of massive data breaches ...