At GDIT Emerge: Modern Government, Patrick Newbold, CIO of CMS, and Dave Merrill, Vice President and General Manager of Federal Health at GDIT, discussed the agency's cloud and AI journey during a recent event — sharing hard-won lessons that other agencies can learn from.

Modernization is more than moving workloads to the cloud. It's building the agility to respond to policy changes at speed. Harnessing AI responsibly with humans in the lead.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proving that even the most complex, high-stakes government health programs can modernize with purpose and impact. Patrick Newbold, CIO of CMS, and Dave Merrill, Vice President and General Manager of Federal Health at GDIT, discussed the agency's cloud and AI journey during a recent event — sharing hard-won lessons that other agencies can learn from.

Optimizing Cloud at Scale

CMS carries one of the largest cloud footprints in the federal government and the cost and complexity that comes with it. Newbold's response was a deliberate hybrid multi-cloud strategy — diversifying beyond a single provider to build resilience, match workloads to the right platforms, and introduce healthy competition among vendors. "When cloud providers know that there are other folks that can provide some of the services, they're more supportive of providing alternatives, credits, and better costs," Newbold said. The agency also became the first federal organization to take advantage of GSA's OneGov program for cloud savings — twice — delivering measurable returns that directly fund mission outcomes.

AI That Drives Outcomes, Not Just Adoption

At CMS, 80% of nearly 7,000 users engage with AI tools every week. That number doesn't happen by accident. Newbold launched an initiative to make CMS "AI native” grounded in a clear philosophy: "We want humans in the lead, not just humans in the loop." Getting there required intentional workforce enablement, hands-on training, and a culture that makes learning accessible and engaging. Industry partners who show up with the full package — tools, training, governance, and adoption support — are the ones making the biggest difference.

What Comes Next

Looking ahead, Newbold's priorities reflect the scale of the mission: proactive cybersecurity, enterprise consolidation (CMS eliminated $756 million in redundant capabilities last year), data interoperability, and above all, workforce. "Workforce is going to be a big key to all of this working — and it's probably the most important piece," he said.

For agencies navigating similar complexity, the CMS story offers a clear takeaway: with the right strategy, the right partners, and a mission-driven culture, modernization at scale is not just possible — it's already happening.