At last: a health care cybersecurity plan

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Oct 24, 2024 View in browser   By Daniel Payne, Carmen Paun, Ruth Reader and Erin Schumaker DANGER ZONE Hackers have targeted health systems, compromising the data of millions. Health care figures prominently in a new set of bipartisan recommendations for shoring up the nation’s cybersecurity. Our Maggie Miller writes that the report, from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0 and the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure at Auburn University, calls on the next administration to: — establish a government task force to begin bringing together existing cyber regulations — initiate a review of the national cyber strategy — launch an initiative to address cyber workforce gaps — host a summit of industry leaders to continue work between government and the private sector — develop a “continuity of the economy plan” to be used in case of a major governmental disruption due to a cyberattack In the longer term, the report says the next president should develop a “common set of cybersecurity standards” for each critical infrastructure sector, including health care, and conduct a review of existing cybersecurity regulations and laws. The report also identifies several agencies that require greater funding to effectively tackle cyber threats, including HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. Among the report authors were Matt Hayden, who was assistant secretary for cyber, infrastructure, risk and resilience policy at the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, and Kiersten Todt, former chief of staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Biden administration Why it matters: More than 144 million people in the U.S. had their health data compromised in 2023, according to a POLITICO analysis, nearly triple 2022’s total. The report cites the attacks as an “imperative of action.” Last month, Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Intelligence Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) unveiled Senate legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to enforce minimum cybersecurity standards in the health care sector. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Paris | Jeffrey Diaz This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care.  A handful of California counties near San Francisco are bringing mask mandates back next month for the winter virus season. Most apply only to workers but patients will also have to wear them in Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.  BUSINESS PLAN Doctors are finding that not all AI is built the same. | Shutterstock There’s likely an AI system under the AI tools your doctor uses — and that could be key to how well they work. So says Andreas Cleve, who makes one of the foundational AI models at his company Corti. Cleve told Daniel that foundation models trained on health care data, as Corti is, should perform better than general-purpose AI. It can also help satisfy regulators who want assurances the data undergirding AI models is sound. Corti was founded in Denmark, where EU regulations require more transparency than the U.S. does. When Cleve pitches Corti to U.S. health firms — which it recently did in a deal with the southern system Tanner Health — he’s found that its EU clearance is a selling point. "It's pretty important — and it seems to work,” Cleve said. Why it matters: Developers who’ve successfully navigated tougher AI rules in the EU may have a leg up on firms that haven’t, given America’s more laissez-faire approach so far. FORWARD THINKING Getting mental health care remains difficult for many patients. | AFP via Getty Images New mental health parity rules from the Biden administration that aim to make sure insurers provide coverage equivalent to that offered for physical health have broad support. That’s according to new polling from West Health, a nonpartisan research organization, and survey research firm Gallup. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they felt somewhat or strongly that coverage for mental and physical health should be comparable. Even more of those polled — 85 percent — said the federal government should do more to expand access to mental health care. The backstory: A 2008 law mandated parity, but the Biden administration says insurers have flouted it by requiring doctors to seek their approval before delivering care, offering lower reimbursement rates for providers who treat mental illness and limiting the number of in-network physicians available to patients. The new rules, issued by Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury departments in September, seek to stop those workarounds. Even so: Most Americans are pessimistic that the rules will be effective, the West Health-Gallup survey found. Half of respondents said they are skeptical insurance companies will comply with the requirements, and 60 percent said they think it’s unlikely mental health care will become more affordable anytime soon.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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