HLTH 2025 Preview: AI, Oz, federal policies, and health access

In recent years, the HLTH conference has become a must for many healthcare leaders.

The health technology conference kicks off Sunday in Las Vegas. Here’s a preview at some of the big themes and topics to watch.

Artificial intelligence

The HLTH conference has placed a spotlight on AI in the past, but this year’s event turns the volume up to 11. AI in health care is going to be a central theme of the event.

Rich Scarfo, president of HLTH, says AI is “showing up everywhere.”

“It's changing the way that we do things in our daily lives, and it's certainly improving and changing the way that so many things are happening in healthcare,” he says.

(See part of our conversation in this video. The story continues below.)

The space on the conference floor devoted to AI is about twice the size of last year, and AI will be integrated throughout HLTH’s programming. Three theaters will be running sessions on AI.

“We've also had a really interesting number of new startups come in that are AI-focused this year as well,” Scarfo says. “So it’s definitely going to be something that's all over the place.”

Mehmet Oz

The head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz is slated to speak at HLTH Monday afternoon. His speech is likely to be very well-attended, especially in light of the partial government shutdown that began more than two weeks ago and doesn’t appear to be coming to an end anytime soon. The shutdown has disrupted telehealth and hospital-at-home programs.

Oz may also discuss the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, which was created this summer as part of President Trump’s broader tax reform package. States must apply by Nov. 5, and Oz has said he hopes to see big, transformative ideas.

He has also repeatedly said he sees technology, including AI and telehealth, as key tools to expand access.

Scarfo expects many attendees will want to see what Oz has to say.

“There's just an incredible amount of curiosity,” Scarfo says. “You know, people really want to get beyond the hype … So it's always good to hear directly from people.”

Federal policy impact

Many healthcare leaders have been critical of the Trump administration’s health policies, and that’s likely to be a hot topic of discussion at HLTH.

Hospital and health system leaders have widely protested pending cuts to Medicaid that are projected to leave millions of Americans without coverage. Healthcare leaders have also protested the National Institute of Health terminating research grants, and changes in vaccine policy.

“There are a lot of components tied to the shutdown that could have a serious impact on health care, and we're just gonna have to see where that lands,” Scarfo says. “But I think it's definitely a challenging time for companies, for hospitals, for payers, and certainly for patients, which is the most important part of all this.”

At some healthcare conferences earlier in the year, many of those policies hadn’t launched yet. Health leaders have seen some of the changes brought by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and many of the sessions will be assessing the impact, the challenges for providers, and how health systems and technology companies can see new opportunities.

“We're definitely in divided times,” Scarfo says, adding, “We try to make sure that we use HLTH as a platform for discussion.”

Jim O’Neill, the deputy director of the Department of Health & Human Services, is slated to attend. Also attending: Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and strategic advisor to the CMS.

Health equity

Even as efforts to address equity have become more polarizing to some, HLTH is spotlighting some of the disparities in health care and efforts to address those gaps.

Scarfo says health equity represents an important element of the conference.

“Health equity is a hot button term these days, but we do think it's really important to focus on individuals that are most in need and making sure they have access to affordable health care,” he says.

“From every conversation we're having, the gap is widening,” Scarfo says. “The people that had the least access to health care have even less. We're at risk of that gap widening.”

This year's conference will also feature more sessions on women's health.

Heroes and legends

The theme of this year’s HLTH conference is “Heroes & Legends.”

The event aims to recognize those people that are striving to improve patient care, even at a turbulent time, Scarfo says.

“There are a lot of people working behind the scenes to move things forward and to fix healthcare. And for us, those are the real heroes,” he says.

HLTH also tried to support those having challenges getting to the conference. HLTH offered travel scholarships to 50 nurses to the event.