Speculation has been swirling about who might take the top Medicaid job in the Trump administration. Among the top contenders: a health tech executive.
Dan Brillman, co-founder and CEO of health tech company Unite Us, is being vetted and could be named director of the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) in the coming weeks, multiple sources close to the matter confirmed to Fierce Healthcare. Brillman has also served in the Air Force Reserves as a combat pilot for nearly two decades, earning several combat air medals for various deployments.
Unite Us and Brillman did not response to requests for comment at press time.
Unite Us is a tech company that facilitates referrals of patients to social services. It works with nonprofits, providers and payers across 44 states. The company has raised at least $195 million in funding to date. Unite Us is currently promoting its platform for states to get their piece of the $50 billion rural health fund allocated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The expected appointment comes as the agency sets out to implement major revisions to the Medicaid program passed in President Donald Trump’s tax package on July 4. The legislation adds new work requirements to Medicaid eligibility and more frequent redeterminations, and will reduce program spending by $911 billion over 10 years.
The health tech industry is seizing the opportunity to bring AI into state Medicaid agencies to check for eligibility and adjudicate coverage. The Coalition for Health AI launched a tiger team earlier this week to help AI companies do so responsibly.
Brillman’s business background is uncommon for a position traditionally held by people with policy experience. President Joe Biden’s Medicaid director previously ran the Massachusetts Medicaid program during the Obama and Trump administrations. The current Acting Medicaid Director, Caprice Knapp, has held positions at the Congressional Budget Office, North Dakota’s Medicaid program and as a fellow for a House healthcare committee.
While Brillman was pursuing an MBA at Columbia, veterans he had served with called him about their health and social service issues, seeking help. In his telling, Brillman began calling housing services, only to discover how challenging it was to coordinate. He wrote a paper about the issue, and through his school, met his future co-founder.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has tapped a health tech executive to lead in government. In April, Chris Klomp, former CEO of health IT company Collective Medical, was appointed head of Medicare. He is expected to modernize the agency through tech and data, STAT reported. Though he never held a role in government, Klomp’s friends cited in the report noted he has worked with public healthcare programs throughout his business ventures.
Knapp has served as the acting director of CMCS since June, when director Drew Snyder departed the agency for personal reasons, Politico reported at the time. Knapp is also employed by HHS as Medicaid Counselor to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and it’s unclear if she will continue in the role.
CMS has lost at least 300 staff members this year due to the federal workforce cuts led by the Department of Government Efficiency and Kennedy’s reorganization of HHS, which could possibly complicate the new Medicaid director’s work. The agency has been consolidated from 28 agencies to 15.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misstated the amount allocated to the rural health fund. It is $50 billion, not million.
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