TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson-based Artificial Intelligence startup Sky Island AI is working on a program to help Americans navigate a changing healthcare scene.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in next next decade, 11.8 million people could lose their healthcare with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act— signed by President Donald Trump July 4.
For Sky Island AI Co-Founder Ed Hendel, a Virtual Case Manager— or VCM— could be the key to helping some Americans keep their healthcare amid the changing landscape.
“It’s a lot of paperwork," he said, referencing the new work requirements. "It’s a lot of checkpoints. There’s even a look back period to prove that you’ve already had a job.”
Hendel says the goal is a model that works with existing case managers instead of replacing them.
“By having the human case managers kind of overseeing the system and letting the AI handle all of the individual interactions, you get a lot more coverage,” he said.
While a human case manager can only carry a certain-sized load, Hendel said “the AI system can interact with everybody simultaneously and there’s no limits to its bandwidth or attention.”
Sky Island AI projects that 50,000 of those people are living in Pima County.
For Hendel and Sky Island AI, the next step is finding a host for a pilot program.
“We can’t roll it out until we have actually have people to send it to," he said. "What we need to do is integrate it into an existing hospital or managed care organization and use their branding and their contact system.”
He says in the future, their VCM could be used to reach beyond healthcare, helping Americans and companies navigate other local and federal bureaucracies.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
