The CareSource Foundation, based in Dayton, on Tuesday, Nov. 10 announced a new national request for proposals that will put up to $1 million over two years behind a responsible artificial intelligence solution for health care, in an announcement distributed by PR Newswire.
The initiative, called Advancing AI-Enabled Models for Care and Community Transformation, is aimed at people who rely on Medicaid and people who face barriers to getting care, the Foundation said in the announcement. It is seeking implementation-ready solutions with measurable impact and the potential to scale, in areas including care coordination, early intervention, member engagement, behavioral health, workforce support and rural access.
“The real promise of AI in healthcare isn’t the technology itself. It’s what that technology can help us do for people,” Erhardt Preitauer, president and CEO of CareSource and President of The CareSource Foundation Board of Trustees, said in the announcement. “We want to bring together innovators who understand both the possibilities of AI and the realities facing vulnerable communities.”
Proposals must be led by a qualified nonprofit organization, the Foundation said, though teams may bring together technology companies, academic and research institutions, health care organizations and community-based organizations. AI used in a proposal should support — not replace — appropriate human judgment and oversight, according to the announcement.
Responsible AI is built into the selection process, not added afterward. Applicants who advance to a second phase will be asked to demonstrate their approaches to data privacy and security, transparency, human oversight, bias mitigation, model validation and ongoing performance monitoring, the Foundation said. The process starts with abbreviated concept proposals; selected applicants are then invited to submit full proposals covering implementation, measurement, scalability and sustainability.
“The Foundation has always been focused on bringing people and organizations together to solve complex challenges in the communities we serve,” Barbara Mills, Foundation Board Chair, said in the announcement. “This initiative gives us an opportunity to bring that same approach to AI.”
The CareSource Foundation has awarded more than $39 million to nonprofits since 2006, according to the announcement, working on poverty, essential services for low- and moderate-income families and community health. Applications for the AI initiative are now open, with the full request for proposals at caresource.com/foundationgrant; the announcement did not set an application deadline or a date for naming the recipient.
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