Senators take a step toward AI oversight

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

May 15, 2024 View in browser   By Ruth Reader, Erin Schumaker, Daniel Payne and Carmen Paun POLICY PUZZLE Schumer's got an AI roadmap. | Francis Chung/POLITICO A bipartisan group of senators has released a much anticipated plan it hopes will guide Washington as lawmakers and regulators consider how to handle advances in artificial intelligence. When it comes to AI in health care, the senators said lawmakers need to ensure the Department of Health and Human Services has the tools it needs to understand the risks and benefits of AI in order to regulate. The group, which came together a year ago, includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as well as Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) Why it matters: Federal agencies are grappling with how to oversee AI since President Joe Biden issued an executive order instructing them to last October. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf has previously said the agency doesn’t have the personnel to adequately police advanced AI in health care, since it's constantly learning and evolving, unlike drugs or medical devices. The senators’ AI roadmap also calls for $32 billion per year in funding for research and development into AI innovation across agencies, including at the National Institutes of Health, the country’s premier funder of health research. Even so: Civil rights groups say the senators’ plan lacks needed guidance on how government can prevent known harms like bias in algorithms, and mitigate the effects of errant systems. “It is light on substantive proposals to solve those problems,” David Brody, managing attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF HEALTHCARE POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries, like healthcare, equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced and better sourced than any other. Our healthcare reporting team—including Alice Miranda Ollstein, Megan Messerly and Robert King—is embedded with the market-moving legislative committees and agencies in Washington and across states, delivering unparalleled coverage of health policy and the healthcare industry. We bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Damariscotta, Maine | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Female elephants rumble and flap their ears more when greeting each other than they do when greeting males, according to a new study from a wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe, Science reports. 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.   DIAGNOSIS Cancer risk for Black women remains disproportionately high. | Getty Images The American Cancer Society is launching the largest population-level study of cancer risk and outcomes in Black women in the United States. The study aims to enroll 100,000 Black women who have not been diagnosed with cancer. It’s looking for women between ages 25 and 55 who live in the 20 states and Washington, D.C., where 90 percent of Black women reside. The study: Participants will complete an online enrollment survey on their health and life history, then fill out subsequent surveys twice a year for 30 years. By gathering long-term data on a large cohort of Black women, researchers hope to learn more about factors that contribute to cancer risk in Black women — and factors that protect against cancer. Why it matters: While the cancer death rate has fallen 33 percent over the past three decades, Black women are more likely to die of most cancers — and die more quickly after diagnosis — than women in any other racial or ethnic group, according to the cancer society, which raises money for cancer research. The study "will finally put Black women front and center for the most comprehensive look at the environmental and social drivers of cancer in this community," Alpa Patel, study co-investigator and senior vice president of population science at the cancer society, told Erin. "We're already seeing a great response since the launch and grassroots-level enrollment will be critical in the upcoming months to ensure we capture every perspective." Big picture: While NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli has said that diversifying clinical trials is a top priority for her, expanding access to trials is expensive. And after decades of generous funding bumps, Congress cut NIH’s budget by $378 million this year to $47.1 billion, down from $47.5 billion in fiscal 2023.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.     TECH MAZE Medical device makers say the FDA is the agency to oversee AI. | AP Photo Medical device makers have a message for regulators on artificial intelligence: The status quo isn’t so bad. AdvaMed, a trade group for the companies, recently responded to a request for information from Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), an internist and former health care executive who’s on a House AI task force, about what Congress should do about AI regulation. The group’s take: not much. It told Bera that the existing regulatory framework for devices, as overseen by the Food and Drug Administration, is robust and could also apply to the latest AI tools. Even so: Better policies are needed to make sure AI systems are working and the tech continues to grow, the group said. Medicare and Medicaid could agree to reimburse care providers for AI systems, boosting innovation and adoption, the group suggested.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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