It probably comes as no surprise that there are a number of AI issues to watch in health care in 2026 on both the federal and state level. One of the biggest issues likely to play out this year is the Trump Administration’s desire to create a uniform national policy on AI, as set forth in its December 11, 2025 Executive Order (EO) “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” Coming on the heels of its July 2025 “America”s AI Action Plan,” the EO seeks to advance a “minimally burdensome” national framework designed to enhance the US’s global AI dominance, streamline AI oversight, and eliminate the “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes” that result from each state passing it own AI laws. Among its provisions, the EO directs the Attorney General to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws that are inconsistent with the Administration’s policies, and directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish an evaluation of existing “onerous” state AI laws that conflict with such policies.
The EO specifically references the “Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act” (CAIA), which was passed in 2024 and was the first comprehensive law of its kind. The CAIA focuses primarily on “high-risk AI systems” which are systems that make (or are a substantial factor in making) what CAIA calls “consequential decisions” or decisions that have a material effect on the provision or cost of such things as health care services, employment, housing, essential government services, among other areas. The CAIA bans “algorithmic discrimination,” which is defined as the use of an AI system that results in an unlawful differential treatment or impact that disfavors an individual or group on the basis of certain protected characteristics such as age, color, disability, etc. The EO posits that this law may force AI models to produce “false results” in order to avoid such differential treatment or impact. Set to become effective next month, the law has been delayed to June 2026 as Colorado lawmakers seek to reconsider and potentially repeal and replace portions of the CAIA.
Many other states have enacted or are in the process of developing laws governing AI. One such law that went into effect January 1, 2026, is Texas’ “Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act” (TRAIGA) which is designed to regulate and place limitations on the use and deployment of AI in numerous settings, including in health care. TRAIGA requires, for example, health care providers to disclose to patients in writing when AI is going to be used in the provision of health care services or treatments in non-emergent situations. Disclosure is also a key component of the Florida’s Senate proposed Bill 482, “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights.” If passed as written, the law would mandate that at the beginning of an interaction between a user and a bot, and at least once every hour during the interaction, an operator would display a pop-up message notifying users that they are not engaging in dialogue with a human counterpart. While many states continue to develop and implement laws that seek to regulate AI, it remains to be seen how these laws will fare under the Trump Administration’s EO and any national AI regulatory framework that gets put in place. In the meantime, it behooves us all to continue to monitor both applicable state laws as well as additional pronouncements from the White House.