Earlier this month, I submitted a public comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with one core idea: create an AI-powered patient assistant that follows Medicare beneficiaries from enrollment through care across plans, locations, and providers.

This idea wasn’t submitted on behalf of a company pitching a product. I wrote it as a professional with over 20 years of experience within the healthcare system, including roles across multiple Fortune 100 organizations. That work has taken me behind the scenes of EHR rollouts, patient access bottlenecks, and the real administrative load that providers and patients both carry. I've spent thousands of hours working alongside clinicians and care teams, and I’ve seen what slows them down.

Now, as the founder of Powered to Rise, I use that experience, plus what I’ve learned about digital marketing and patient-first tech design, to develop solutions that support system-wide coordination without increasing burden.

The Proposal: A CMS-Integrated AI Assistant

At the center of the proposal is a simple but powerful shift: assign every Medicare beneficiary a secure, AI-powered assistant at enrollment. This assistant would:

• Locate in-network providers using real-time plan data

• Schedule appointments by syncing with provider-side APIs

• Share records using FHIR and HL7 standards

• Communicate with patients through a single interface—text, voice, or web—without multiple logins or repeated data entry

This assistant would not replace human navigators. It would support them, especially in regions where infrastructure is thin and patients face digital access barriers.

Why CMS—and Why Now

CMS, as the central payer and data steward for Medicare, is uniquely positioned to:

• Normalize AI navigation tools as a standard benefit

• Enforce national data-sharing protocols

• Ensure these systems are inclusive, accessible, and equity-centered from day one

This isn’t a future-state fantasy, the technology already exists. Consumer-centered platforms like OpenAI, Notion, HighLevel, and others are HIPAA-compliant and ready to integrate with traditional provider-facing systems today.

The Lived Lens That Guided This

Before submitting the comment, I spoke with my parents about their experiences with Medicare. Their feedback spanned a wide range—some parts of the system worked well, others required persistence and patience. But their stories were only part of the picture.

Over the years, I’ve spoken directly with hundreds of Medicare patients in different regions of the country. The challenges I’ve heard from people living in rural communities—like those in the Appalachian Mountain area—are different from the stories I’ve heard in suburban and urban settings. Technology access, provider networks, and system literacy vary widely.

This proposal reflects that complexity. It’s informed by both system knowledge and human experience—from inside the workflow and at the point of care. It’s a response to what I’ve witnessed, what I’ve studied, and what I’ve heard from the people this system is meant to serve.

Read the Full Submission

To explore the complete proposal—complete with use cases, data citations, and design considerations:

[Download the full public comment here.]