Original Broadcast Date: 04/26/2026
Presented by GDIT
Patrick Newbold, Chief Information Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is driving an ambitious modernization strategy that places technology at the center of the agency’s mission. In his conversation on Fed Gov Today, he describes a transformation effort that is not just about adopting new tools, but about reshaping how CMS operates, collaborates, and delivers results across the healthcare ecosystem.
At a high level, Newbold explains that CMS is focused on building a connected technology ecosystem that brings together organizations across healthcare. The goal is alignment—ensuring that stakeholders who may traditionally move in different directions are working toward shared outcomes. Achieving that alignment requires strong communication, a unified vision, and leadership that can bring diverse groups together. CMS is leaning heavily into those principles as it pushes forward with modernization.
Two major milestones highlight this strategy in action. First, CMS becomes the first federal agency to take advantage of the OneGov AWS initiative. The agency uses this opportunity to move a critical workload—its Medicare.gov contact center—to the cloud. By combining the OneGov offering with additional negotiations through a reseller, CMS secures even greater cost savings and long-term predictability. The result is a 41% reduction in cloud costs, a significant achievement that demonstrates how strategic partnerships and careful planning can deliver real financial impact.
Newbold acknowledges that some agencies hesitate to adopt programs like OneGov due to concerns about long-term costs. CMS addresses this by prioritizing transparency and maintaining strong relationships with partners, including the General Services Administration and resellers. By
The second major milestone is CMS’s decision to deploy AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, at scale across the organization. Newbold frames this as part of a broader vision to become an “AI-native” organization. Rather than waiting for widespread adoption across government, CMS takes an early leap, positioning itself as a leader in AI implementation.
However, Newbold makes it clear that technology alone is not enough. The real challenge lies in ensuring that the workforce understands and uses these tools effectively. CMS addresses this by investing heavily in training and engagement. The agency hosts “excite days” focused on AI, where employees are introduced to practical use cases, tips, and demonstrations. It also partners with other agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, to host collaborative events like “AI Palooza,” bringing together employees and vendors to explore capabilities and build skills.
These efforts are producing measurable results. Approximately 80% of the CMS workforce is using AI tools on a weekly basis. After training events, the agency sees immediate spikes in engagement, including a 36% increase in usage following one session. Surveys show that employees are saving an average of five and a half hours per week благодаря AI, time that can be redirected toward more critical healthcare work.
Beyond internal productivity, CMS is also applying AI to mission-critical challenges. One of the most impactful areas is fraud, waste, and abuse prevention. By leveraging AI, analytics, and large datasets, CMS is able to identify and stop improper payments before they occur. Newbold notes that the agency has already prevented over $2 billion in fraud, reflecting a shift from a reactive “pay and chase” model to a proactive prevention strategy.
This dual focus—improving internal operations while enhancing external outcomes—is central to CMS’s modernization approach. Newbold emphasizes that being an effective organization externally requires being a practitioner internally. In other words, CMS must adopt and refine these technologies within its own workforce before scaling them to broader healthcare challenges.
Technology teams play a critical role in this effort, not just by selecting tools, but by ensuring that data, security, and processes are aligned. Newbold highlights the importance of pairing technology with the right processes to achieve meaningful results. Without that alignment, even the most advanced tools will fall short.
Overall, Newbold presents a clear and practical vision for modernization at CMS. It is a vision rooted in collaboration, strategic investment, and a strong emphasis on workforce readiness. By combining cost-saving initiatives, aggressive AI adoption, and a focus on measurable outcomes, CMS is positioning itself as a leader in federal technology transformation—one that is not just experimenting with innovation, but delivering real, tangible results.