CMS Tech Update: Medicare App Library Launched
RFI seeking input on digital health products released.
On April 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the launch of its previously planned app library for Medicare beneficiaries. The initiative aims to help individuals access and share their health records more quickly while complying with current privacy laws and without compromising security.
The development of the app library is part of the agency's broader effort to build a “health tech ecosystem” through private-sector collaborations to improve the patient experience for Medicare beneficiaries. CMS is betting that Medicare beneficiaries will embrace new technology and that the private sector will lead the way in developing innovative products.
These apps may charge Medicare beneficiaries a fee, but if they do, they must offer a free trial. The U.S. wellness apps market is projected to reach about $9.22 billion in 2025 and grow to over $21 billion by 2033. This initiative will help expand the potential customer base for technology companies.
Why this matters to physicians and other clinicians: If your patients use this technology to access their data, they might ask you questions about the information they review or the technology itself. You and your staff may need to be familiar with it or even engage with it.
In addition to the launch of the Medicare app library, a request for information (RFI) was also released by CMS and Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) (collectively, ASTP/ONC), seeking the best strategies for the large-scale adoption of health technology targeted at Medicare beneficiaries to promote better health outcomes, and “accelerate progress towards a patient-centric learning health system.” Comments are due June 16, 2026.
Background
We first learned about the creation of the Medicare app library in 2025. CMS announced the development of a CMS-backed app store, where health startups can offer tools directly to Medicare beneficiaries and access medical records from across the healthcare system. This initiative would grant entrepreneurs and established tech companies unprecedented access to health data and to a user base of 67 million Medicare beneficiaries.
More details emerged in February 2026.
The Medicare App Library is part of the CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem, and companies can submit their applications to CMS.
The app library will serve as a centralized directory for mobile and web applications, technology-enabled care services, digital health platforms, and innovative care delivery tools.
The agency is seeking tools in three areas: eliminating manual check-ins, providing AI-powered, personalized health guidance, and managing chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
Medicare App Library
In this initial launch of the Medicare App Library, Medicare beneficiaries have four apps available. Two are for managing their healthcare data, and two are for chronic care management.
Flexpa and HealthEx give patients access to their health records and help them share their records with doctors and health plans.
January AI uses artificial intelligence to predict blood sugar response to food. Welldoc helps patients manage weight, diabetes, prediabetes, and hypertension.
There are also several additional apps listed that CMS has indicated are undergoing final checks and will be available soon.
RFI Seeks Feedback on the Development of Digital Health Products for Medicare Beneficiaries
CMS and ASTP/ONC seek feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including patients and caregivers, providers, payers, health IT companies, health information exchanges, health information networks, clearinghouses, researchers, and developers of digital health products, on how to maximize the potential of digital health technology products when offered to Medicare beneficiaries. The questions are arranged in several topic areas:
Patient and caregiver questions relate to the healthcare management tools they currently have access to, the tools they would like to see developed, the role of CMS in vetting these tools, and how patients can be encouraged to use them. There are also a series of questions about data collection, data access, data integration, and the use of digital identity credentials (e.g., CLEAR).
Clinician questions focus on the workflows involving clinicians that these tools could impact. Questions are asked about current obstacles to accessing these tools, especially for rural clinicians; how clinicians can be encouraged to use them; privacy concerns; and the importance of improving the availability of digital health technology tools for Medicare beneficiaries relative to other interoperability issues clinicians face. There are also a series of questions related to existing data exchange capacity, how CMS can encourage clinicians to accept digital identity credentials, and how these tools could interact with information-blocking policies.
Payer questions include how to encourage payers to adopt these policies, how this could support a national provider directory, how to integrate digital identity credentials, and whether there are ways to consolidate various responsibilities for interoperability and quality reporting through these digital health technology products.
There is also a series of parallel questions about the use of tools in a value-based care environment, and from the perspectives of technology vendors, data providers, and networks. Information collected through this RFI will inform future initiatives to further develop the health tech ecosystem.
Please let me know if you have any questions or wish to discuss.
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For more information and questions, please contact:
Sheila Madhani
Madhani Healthcare Consulting
Email: smadhani@madhani-health.com
Tel: (202) 679-2977