Health Tech Bites

HTB::AI’s New Front Door

Headline 1: OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health with b.well integration for personal health data sync and reviewSummary: Consumer health questions are moving into an AI interface that can connect to real records, which could reshape how people understand, navigate, and trust care.
Headline 2: 67% of physicians report daily AI use in practiceSummary: AI is already embedded in clinical work, and the real challenge now is governance, training, and making sure adoption is safe and consistent.
Headline 3: Revenue cycle leaders warn AI could accelerate denials unless payers and providers alignSummary: Claims, denials, and prior auth are becoming the next AI battleground, and leaders will either use AI to reduce friction or scale it.
 
 
 

HTB:: Care, Coverage, and ChatGPT

Sanford Health doubles down on its provider-led health plan to counter Medicare Advantage pressures and signals why tighter care plus coverage integration is becoming a real strategy.
FDA announces sweeping changes to the oversight of wearables and AI-enabled devices and shifts more of the “is this safe and real” burden from regulators to buyers.
OpenAI says 40 million people use ChatGPT daily for healthcare questions and forces the uncomfortable truth that AI is already an unofficial front door, whether healthcare leaders like it or not.

HTB:: Brink of Strikes and Maybe Transformation

2026 Outlook: Hybrid care companies poised for strong growth (Fierce Healthcare)21,000 New York nurses to launch strike Jan. 12 (Fierce Healthcare)Tech Compass 2026: AI optimism rises, but people want a “pause button” (Bosch)

HTB:: AI is Here. Who Pays?

STAT: Who will pay for AI in health care? The market has plenty of clinical AI, but reimbursement is not keeping up, so health systems are staring down another “unfunded standard of care” moment.KFF: Policy changes bring renewed focus on high-deductible health plans 2026 plan design is pushing more cost onto consumers, which changes behavior, delays care, and turns affordability into an operational problem.Chief Healthcare Executive: 26 leaders predict AI’s next phase. Leaders are done with pilots and hype. They want enterprise-scale AI that reduces friction, especially inside the EHR, and they know adoption and training will decide who wins.

HTB::Special Holiday Announcement

We will be back Jan 5th. 2026

HTB:: The ACA Cliff: What Happens in 2026

A special episode on the ACA subsidy cliff and why it’s more than “policy drama.” We break down where things stand right now, what the 2026 reality looks like for premiums and behavior, what people are arguing about, and how to lead through it if you run a plan, health system, or benefits team.

HTB:: FDA Shakeup, Employer Benefits ROI, and the ACA Subsidy Cliff

Headline 1 FDA digital health leaders exit amid reorgs, which could slow approvals and reshape how AI devices get reviewed heading into 2026.Headline 2 Employers are seeing big ROI on workplace insurance, but the hidden cost is rising employee friction that quietly hits trust, retention, and delayed care.Headline 3 The ACA subsidy cliff is back on the edge, and if it drops, plans and systems could face fast operational chaos as affordability snaps overnight.

HTB:: AI Hype, GLP-1 Math, and Payroll Benefits

Headline 1: Is healthcare in an AI bubble? CIOs weigh in (Becker’s Hospital Review, Nov 17, 2025)A bunch of CIOs basically say the hype might pop, but the workflow wins are real, measurable, and already changing day-to-day care operations.
Headline 2: Growing GLP-1 drug costs squeeze Minnesota employers and health plans (Axios Twin Cities, Dec 15, 2025)GLP-1s are helping people and hammering budgets, forcing employers and plans to build policies that protect both outcomes and affordability without losing trust.
Headline 3: Thatch embeds ICHRA health benefits into ADP payroll platform (MobiHealthNews, Dec 15, 2025)This is a “go where people already are” play, turning benefits into something that lives inside payroll workflow instead of a once-a-year fire drill.

HTB::Agents, Leaks, and the Bills Nobody Wants to Eat

Five Ways AI Agents Will Transform Healthcare Operations AI is shifting from suggesting to actually doing the work—from revenue cycle to clinician support—forcing leaders to ask: what are you ready to delegate in 2026?
Non-Labor Expenses Are Becoming Hospitals' Biggest Cost Threat The quiet margin squeeze isn’t coming from labor anymore—it’s hiding in thousands of “that’s just how we’ve always done it” non-labor decisions.
Bad Debt and Charity Care Up 40% Since 2022 Coverage gaps and Medicaid redeterminations are driving unpaid care higher than ever, turning affordability leaks into a shared crisis for hospitals, plans, and eventually employers.

HTB :: $50B for Rural Care, Fewer AI Tools, Texas vs Epic

All 50 states applied for CMS’s $50B Rural Health Transformation Program, awards due Dec 31: A massive bet with a year end clock, where the real question is whether states build the boring foundation that makes change stick, or just dress up a plan with buzzwords.
Hospital CIO priorities for 2026 shift from new tools to scale and govern: Big systems are moving from “more AI” to “make it work,” focusing on fewer bets that reduce documentation burden, tighten security, and actually show enterprise impact.
Texas AG sues Epic over alleged monopolization and restrictive data practices: Strip away the noise and this is a power fight over data access, switching costs, and what “open” is going to mean in the next era of EHR competition.