This week on the AgeTech Collaborative™ blog, we are pleased to welcome a guest post by Neal K. Shah, CEO of CareYaya, an AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participant focused on enhancing home healthcare delivery through products such as QuickTok, an AI phone companion designed to improve the well-being and cognitive health of seniors. Shah is also co-founder of Counterforce Health, a free AI-powered platform that helps patients appeal claim denials from their insurance companies. Counterforce is currently part of our Accelerator’s Summer Cohort and will officially join the AgeTech Collaborative™ ecosystem this September.
In this post, Shah explores some of the exciting ways that artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving to better serve older adults, especially when it comes to dealing with common challenges in the healthcare system. By putting users’ needs and preferences front and center, these new technologies make it faster, simpler and more convenient for aging Americans — and everyone — to leverage the remarkable power of AI.
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The most impactful artificial intelligence (AI) for older adults won’t need apps, websites or smartphones. But it will deliver value that solves real problems and meaningfully improves lives. Let me explain.
Last week, Mrs. Rodriguez sat in our offices, her purse stuffed with insurance papers she cannot decode. She is 78, sharp as ever, raised four children and is her husband’s caregiver. Yet, she cannot navigate the labyrinthine choices during upcoming Medicare open enrollment. Nearly 70% of Medicare beneficiaries don't compare their options annually, because the system demands expertise and time that no reasonable person has.
In my years of managing a nationwide eldercare platform at CareYaya, I have watched countless older adults struggle with a healthcare system that seems designed by people who have never been sick, never been old, and never had to navigate a health insurance maze while managing multiple chronic conditions and caregiving for a spouse.
But, in the spaces between technological possibility and human need, something interesting is beginning to happen. AI can't fix everything, but this is where I think artificial intelligence can finally serve older Americans' real healthcare needs.
Three Health Insurance Challenges That Shouldn't Exist
1. Choice Paralysis
The average older adult faces a choice of 43 Medicare Advantage plans and 21 drug plans. No wonder so few people don't compare options annually — not out of laziness, but because comparing plans requires parsing dense documents, cross-referencing medications and calculating costs across dozens of scenarios.
2. The Digital Divide
Forty-two percent of Americans over 65 lack high-speed internet at home — that’s 22 million people. Yet, healthcare assumes digital fluency: access to and familiarity with web portals, online navigation, smartphone apps and more. We've built digital-first infrastructure then wonder why older adults feel left behind.
Meanwhile, nearly half of older Americans prefer telephone communication for healthcare matters because phone conversations allow for the questions, clarification and dialogue that complex decisions require.
3. The Denial Machine
Twenty percent of health insurance claims are denied, yet less than 1 in 500 people appeal those decisions. The appeals process is deliberately complex, typically involving formal letters, policy citations, phone trees and deadlines. For older adults managing health conditions, this bureaucracy feels insurmountable. Many give up and pay out-of-pocket or forgo much-needed care.
Three AI Solutions That Can Actually Help
Instead of adding complexity, innovators are starting to ask: How do we use AI to meet older adults exactly where they are?
1. Voice AI Over Your Kitchen Phone
AI voice assistants are launching that work over regular phone lines — even landlines. No apps or devices needed. Just dial and talk with Frank, a voice AI guide that can help you understand the maze of choices. The National Institute on Aging Startup Challenge in 2025 empowered several innovations in this field, including ThriveLink and CareYaya’s QuikTok.
This represents a fundamental tenet of design thinking: Instead of forcing older adults to adapt to technology, technology adapts to them. These voice AI assistants explain Medicare plan differences, compare costs, and walk callers through the enrollment process, all using the communication method nearly half of older adults prefer.
2. SMS-Based AI for Simple Questions
Many older adults can text grandchildren but struggle with complex websites. SMS-based AI chatbots like Carevocacy’s ApoAI serve this population beautifully.
Older adults can text “Does my plan cover a cardiologist visit?” and receive accurate, personalized responses within minutes — no login, no website navigation, no hold music. The SMS-based AI can help connect to the internet to research plan details, calculate copays and provide specific network information.
3. AI Advocates That Never Give Up
Emerging AI tools such as those from Counterforce Health help older adults navigate health insurance claim denials. The AI system drafts robust appeal letters in minutes, citing medical literature, policy language and regulations that take human advocates hours to research. The company’s voice AI assistant Maxwell is also available to help older adults navigate the complexities of the appeal process, serving as a concierge patient advocate that typically only the wealthy can afford.
Recently Mr. Chen, a retired engineer with Parkinson's, had physical therapy denied. Previously, he would have given up because the stress of fighting worsened his symptoms. Instead, AI generated an appeal he could review, then Maxwell handled bureaucratic follow-up. Therapy was approved within two weeks.
Why This Matters More Than Efficiency
These AI tools restore agency to older adults who have been systematically disempowered by complex systems. Instead of following vague advice to “go online” or enduring 45-minute hold times, they get immediate, accurate answers.
When you're 75 managing multiple conditions, every healthcare interaction becomes a negotiation for dignity. Being treated as a competent adult, getting clear answers and feeling supported — these aren't luxury features but essential elements of healthcare.
The best AI tools for older adults share key characteristics: patience, no judgment, clear explanations and memory of previous conversations. They demonstrate qualities we hope for in healthcare providers but rarely experience in healthcare systems.
Recent research shows older adults are surprisingly open to AI-assisted healthcare tools, with one caveat: Technology must complement human connection, not replace it.
Looking Forward with Realistic Hope
AI alone cannot fix the fundamental, systemic problems in the healthcare system, such as fragmentation, perverse incentives and profit over patients. But AI can make the current system more navigable while we work toward larger reforms.
Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65 and enter Medicare. Each person deserves healthcare that supports their independence, respects their intelligence and provides clear guidance.
These emerging AI tools represent something rare in healthcare technology: innovation designed specifically for older adults' needs. Instead of forcing adaptation to technology, these tools adapt to people and provide clarity.
The best solutions work with human nature, not against it. These AI systems may be artificial, but they offer something real: support older adults need to maintain health, independence and dignity in a system that has too often failed them.
The technology is here. The question is whether we'll implement it with the wisdom and compassion older adults deserve. Based on what I've seen, I'm optimistic we're finally building technology worthy of the people who will use it.
Neal K. Shah is the CEO of CareYaya and co-founder of Counterforce Health, a free AI platform to help patients and clinics fight health insurance claim denials.
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