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State lawmakers — concerned with a surge in class-action suits over data breaches — are passing legislation to limit hospitals and other health care organizations’ liability following a cyberattack. Tennessee in May became the fourth state to limit organizations’ liability in exchange for adopting cyber defenses, following Utah, Connecticut and Ohio. (Leonard, 7/29)

The Biden administration is overhauling its health IT bureaucracy to address the proliferation of cyberattacks on the sector and the growth of data and artificial intelligence in medical settings. The goals include setting an AI policy and strategy for HHS and streamlining critical infrastructure protection within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, per a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Monday. (Bettelheim, 7/29)

Halfway through the year, the conversation around artificial intelligence's role in healthcare largely has centered on clinical documentation. Generative AI's ability to streamline charting within electronic health records has caught the attention of established EHR vendors, investors and health systems. Some AI developers and researchers are looking beyond that by preparing and piloting AI models, relying on genetic data on patients to diagnose diseases and develop treatment plans. (Perna, 7/26)

An alliance of little-known advocacy groups has convinced five states to pass laws to protect kids online and is now making inroads in Washington. The nonpartisan coalition has done it by delivering parents’ and kids’ stories about bullying and exploitative content on Facebook, TikTok and other platforms. By focusing on the harms to kids’ health, these organizations have helped enact laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland and New York meant to regulate social media for minors. (Reader, 7/28)

The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a nearly $15 billion combined budget shortfall this fiscal year and next, and congressional Republicans are crying foul at the last-minute notification about a funding crisis lawmakers have little time to try to fix. VA officials told lawmakers on July 15 that the agency needs $2.9 billion in mandatory spending for veterans pensions and other benefits to cover a gap for the remaining months of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. And they need another $12 billion in discretionary medical care funds for next year on top of what was provided in a March appropriations package or in the fiscal 2025 House and Senate Military Construction-VA bills. (Quigley, 7/26)