CMS health AI Slack workspace reached 1,700 members

The Slack effort to steer more Americans toward AI-powered health apps began in August 2025 and grew to 1,700 members.[1][2] KFF Health News said its review of thousands of Slack messages, meeting transcripts and recordings found that industry had direct access to senior officials, including Amy Gleason.[1] The invitation for selected companies to help shape federal healthcare AI policy was sent through Slack.[1] CMS had not formally announced the workspace through federal regulatory channels, although officials had discussed it at industry conferences.[1]

The administration’s stated goal was to make medical records easier for Americans to access so apps could provide health or wellness advice, while also giving technology companies access to those records.[1] The initiative aimed to give industry a chance to participate in government-supported healthcare.[1] It allows health apps to bill Medicare for AI services such as wearable-device tracking.[1] The Medicare App Library webpage promoted two dozen commercial apps to seniors and people with disabilities.[1] These details connect the policy effort to both app access to records and potential Medicare payments.

In February, federal health officials invited Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI, Apple and Google to a listening session about conversational AI products for patients.[1] Officials asked companies beforehand to explain their products and how they accessed patients’ sensitive medical information.[1] The session was described as an opportunity to help the FDA shape future guidance on conversational AI.[1] At least 35 industry organizations attended the FDA meeting, but the agency’s public calendar and regulatory notices did not list it, and the public was not invited.[1]

The Slack workspace’s code of conduct said the group was not an advisory committee and would not be used to obtain recommendations for HHS or CMS officials.[2] Legal experts told KFF Health News that the workspace resembled a federal advisory panel, which would have to operate publicly.[1] CMS characterized the Health Technology Ecosystem as an open, voluntary technical collaboration.[1] Meanwhile, American Medical Association CEO John Whyte said some tools were not ready for widespread use and cited inadequate evidence about how they worked or used information, as well as the absence of liability if they were wrong.[1]