Summit is part of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ national
Startup Days tour to showcase opportunities for entrepreneurs and coders.

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is hosting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) and several other federal agencies in a daylong conference designed to connect them with local entrepreneurs and startups in the health and government technology sectors.
The ATDC Federal Healthcare Innovation Summit will be held September 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at ATDC. (Register here.) It is being co-hosted by NASCO, a leading provider of information technology products and services designed help U.S. healthcare payers, and sponsor of the ATDC HealthTech Program.
HHS officials, including Edward Simcox, the agency’s chief technology officer, are coming to Atlanta as part of the department’s Startup Days tour of eight cities across the United States.
Startup Days aims to engage entrepreneurs, inform them of HHS’ processes and funding opportunities, and feature a “Shark Tank” pitch competition for select HealthTech and GovTech startups. (Apply for the Shark Tank pitch competition here.)
“Health and Human Services, through its HHS Idea Lab, is always trying to find new ways to interact and engage with entrepreneurs in the technology and health spaces,” said Kirk Barnes, ATDC HealthTech catalyst. “We are excited to help facilitate connections between HHS and Georgia’s technology ecosystem and we’ve expanded this initiative to include several federal agencies that have an interest in HealthTech innovation.”
Other federal agencies participating in the ATDC Federal Healthcare Innovation Summit include the:
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Institutes of Health
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
With the Shark Tank competition, startups selected to participate will be asked to deliver their five-minute pitches that will include information related to:
- Traction
- Ingenuity of idea
- Problem solution fit
- Market fit
- Scalability
- Potential to work with HHS
After the pitches, healthcare leaders from across HHS, will provide constructive feedback to help entrepreneurs get a better understanding of how they can better engage with federal agencies.
Following the Summit., ATDC is hosting Silence the Shame: Bringing Together Technology, Entertainment, and Academia to Address Mental Health for National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month will take place from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Tech Square. (Click here for more details.)
About the HHS Idea Lab
The Health and Human Services IDEA Lab, within the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, was established to encourage and enable innovation at HHS. We help HHS explore, test and accelerate solutions that improve the delivery of health and human services. The IDEA Lab is the Department’s go-to resource to solve complex problems with innovative approaches and best practices from federal agencies, industry, and non-profits. To learn more, visit, hhs.gov/idealab.
About the Advanced Technology Development Center
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a program of the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the State of Georgia’s technology startup incubator. Founded in 1980 by the Georgia General Assembly which funds it each year, ATDC’s mission is to work with entrepreneurs in Georgia to help them learn, launch, scale, and succeed in the creation of viable, disruptive technology companies. Since its founding, ATDC has grown to become one of the longest running and most successful university-affiliated incubators in the United States, with its graduate startup companies raising more than $2 billion in investment financing and generating more than $12 billion in revenue in the State of Georgia. To learn more, visit atdc.org.
About NASCO
NASCO provides an integrated suite of information technology products and services that help healthcare payers address unique business challenges and revolutionize business operations. Owned by and exclusively serving Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans for more than 30 years, NASCO provides seamless benefit management, eligibility, membership, billing and claims processing support for Blue Plans, allowing them to provide competitive healthcare products in federal, state and multistate markets for nearly 25 million members. NASCO’s partnership with multiple Blue Plans cultivates a community that fosters the collaboration needed to promote innovation, deliver shared solutions and create a competitive cost advantage. NASCO is shaping the future of healthcare IT. For more information, visit nasco.com.