Tech Explained: Here’s a simplified explanation of the latest technology update around Tech Explained: HHS reverses Biden-era reorganization of top AI, data, tech roles in Simple Termsand what it means for users..
The Department of Health and Human Services is reshuffling its top officials for data, artificial intelligence, and technology back under its chief information officer, undoing a 2024 reorganization of those roles under the Biden administration.
In a Tuesday announcement, HHS said the department’s chief AI officer, chief technology officer, and chief data officer would move from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, known as ASTP/ONC, back to the Office of the Chief Information Officer. The department is also ending the dual title of ASTP/ONC and reverting it back to just ONC.
According to the press release, the reversal is aimed at reinforcing “OCIO’s statutory responsibility for enterprise IT, cybersecurity, and data operations.” The move, the department said, also enables ONC to focus on its mission of health IT policy standards and certification.
“By bringing CTO, CAIO, and CDO functions together under one roof, we can move faster on shared platforms, protect our systems more effectively, and support ONC and the operating divisions with the technology capabilities they need to innovate for patients,” HHS CIO and acting CAIO Clark Minor said in a statement included in the release.
The Biden-era reorganization was first announced in July 2024 and generally moved functions away from the OCIO, with a goal of clarifying and consolidating those responsibilities.
In addition to rehousing top tech officials, the move reinstituted the role of CTO after several years of absence from the department’s org chart, and relocated a department program focused on coordinating health sector and government cybersecurity — known as the 405(d) Program — to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
That reorganization made the national coordinator for health IT, then Micky Tripathi, an assistant secretary overseeing technology policy as well — hence ASTP/ONC.
At the time, Tripathi told FedScoop the move reflected the department’s need to have a “more dedicated” approach to address the arising needs of technology issues. The internally focused compliance work of the CIO, he said, was already a “huge job in itself” for a large organization like HHS.
While three appointees were eventually selected to step into those rehomed tech leadership roles, the department’s announcement naming the officials came in the final days of the Biden administration. Since then, agencies across the government — including HHS — have seen widespread reductions in staff, as well as reorganizations in line with the Trump administration’s policies to bring about a smaller federal government. Of those three officials, just one, CDO Kristen Honey, is still in her role.
As for the other impacted roles: Minor serves as acting CAIO and the department’s CTO is Zachary Terrell.
Per the release, the three officials will “work as a unified team under the CIO to deliver secure, scalable platforms and common services that support ONC’s policy work and the Department’s mission programs.”
In their statements, Minor and Dr. Thomas Keane, the agency’s national coordinator, both emphasized that the offices will still work closely together on policy and technology infrastructure.
“ONC and OCIO are now tightly coordinated in how we set policy, build infrastructure, and deploy AI and data capabilities,” Keane said in a statement included in the release. “Together, we will drive toward true data liquidity across the health system so that the right information is available to the right person at the right time—improving outcomes and lowering costs for the American people.”
An HHS spokesperson didn’t respond to FedScoop’s questions, including details about any specific issues caused by the previous structure that brought about the change.