HHS Restores ONC, Keeps Key Health IT Programs Intact

Projects and initiatives started under the former office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will remain intact despite the recent reorganization, a spokesperson said Wednesday.  

The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it was reversing a Biden administration reorganization and retitling the federal health IT office back to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), removing the ASTP from the title. The office will also return its focus to external IT coordination, and not HHS’ internal use of technology. 

“Despite the name change, our programs and priorities aren’t changing,” an ONC spokesperson told GovCIO Media & Research. “ONC will continue to focus on standards, certification and policy that advances key departmental initiatives that improve data liquidity, improve affordability and access, and advance technology. Initiatives such as TEFCA, the information blocking (and other) regulations and the USCDI, for example, will continue.” 

The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, hit a major milestone in February, reaching half a billion health records exchanged. Launched in 2023 to create a unified, secure and interoperable network for sharing electronic health information nationwide, TEFCA has seen exponential growth in the past year, increasing from 10 million records exchanged in January 2025 to 500 million just over a year later.  

The other Heath IT regulations that will continue include the five Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability (HTI) Rules. The agency’s HTI rules are the result of President Donald Trump’s goals outlined in the Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation executive order issued shortly after he took office. In the order, he calls on federal agencies to “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens” in order to promote innovation and global competition. Four of the rules have been finalized, and the fifth rule is still a proposal.  

Background 

In April 2024, the Biden administration announced it would rename the office to include ASTP and would move oversight over technology, data, AI policy and strategy to ASTP/ONC, including the HHS-wide roles of CTO, CDO and CAIO. At the time, the administration said the move was intended to “streamline and bolster technology, cybersecurity, data, and artificial intelligence strategy and policy functions.” 

In addition to reversing the retitling, Tuesday’s announcement also reverses the tech-related role changes and put the CTO, CDO and CAIO positions back under HHS’ CIO leadership. HHS’ Office of the CIO will now be responsible for enterprise IT, cybersecurity and data operations, while the ONC will focus on health IT policy, standards and certification.  

“This structure allows OCIO to provide an integrated backbone for cloud, cybersecurity, data and AI that every HHS component can rely on,” said HHS CIO Clark Minor. “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.”