The news: Medicare plans to pay health tech companies for wearables, apps, and telehealth technology that improve patient outcomes. It marks another step in the Trump administration’s ambition to advance digital health tech solutions.

• The pilot program, Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) will launch next year. Health tech companies can apply to join in January and patients will be able to join in July.
• ACCESS will initially target tech-enabled care for high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic pain, and depression—conditions that affect two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries.
• Tech providers will receive partial payment upfront and full payment later only if patients’ health improves. Primary care physicians can earn a co-management fee for referring patients to ACCESS organizations and continuing patient support.

Why it matters: Digital health tech could improve outcomes for people with chronic conditions by encouraging medication adherence and enabling early interventions via remote monitoring.

• About 40% to 50% of patients don’t adhere to their prescribed medications, per an Anthem report in June. But studies show telehealth interventions improve medication adherence such as outpatient follow-up and self-management, per the CDC’s Community Preventive Services Task Force.
• An analysis of digital interventions for cardiovascular disease found promising evidence that technology like text messaging programs, smartphone apps, and wearable devices improved treatment adherence and overall cardiovascular risk.

This is the second time the Trump administration is offering to pay for health tech to improve US consumers’ health. In June, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress the agency is exploring ways to pay for all Americans to get wearable devices, touting them as cost-effective solutions to chronic health problems like obesity.

Implications for health tech companies: The government’s willingness to pay for digital health solutions signals a meaningful shift toward making these tools part of standard clinical care. AI-enabled solutions will only accelerate that shift by delivering predictive insights and personalized interventions.

Still, the bar is rising as the new Medicare program ties reimbursement to proven real-world health improvements. That adds legitimacy, but also increases pressure on companies to produce measurable clinical results.