Counsel Health, the AI-native primary care company, today announced its participation in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s Advancing Chronic Care with Effective Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) Model under the early cardio-kidney-metabolic (eCKM) track.

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Counsel Health Joins ACCESS Model collaborating with ŌURA to broaden access.

Counsel Health Joins ACCESS Model collaborating with ŌURA to broaden access.

Starting in early 2027, Counsel will deliver AI-native chronic care for hypertension, obesity, hyperlipidemia and/or prediabetes at no out-of-pocket cost to eligible Medicare beneficiaries across nearly all U.S. states. Through this program, Counsel is partnering with ŌURA, a leading health intelligence platform and maker of the world’s smallest smart ring, Oura Ring, expanding on the partnership announced in May, to help their Medicare beneficiaries move from health insights to physician-led action.

More than 90% of adults aged 65+ live with a chronic condition, while over two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries are managing multiple chronic diseases. Yet many of the advances in digital health that have made care more accessible and personalized have not reached Medicare beneficiaries at the same scale. The ACCESS Model is designed to expand access to technology-enabled chronic care for this population. Through its participation, Counsel will bring personalized guidance from Counsel’s medical AI alongside on-demand access to its board-certified physicians, helping Medicare beneficiaries benefit from a more modern, connected care experience. For patients who also use Oura Ring and consent to share their Oura data, Counsel will leverage biometric health insights from the Oura App to deliver more personalized care informed by continuous biometric data.

“We’re honored to participate in ACCESS, expanding our proven AI-native model within the Medicare population,” said Dr. Rishi Khakhkhar, Chief Medical Officer at Counsel Health. “Our philosophy is that chronic care management must shift from an episodic model to continuous, always-available care, and ACCESS is designed to give innovative models like ours an opportunity to serve the patients who need us most.”

How Medicare beneficiaries can enroll in minutes:

  • With Counsel: Patients will be able to access the program through Counsel’s desktop or mobile app. Clinical eligibility will be confirmed by a Counsel physician, including whether the patient has one or more qualifying conditions.

  • With Oura: As a technology and marketing partner, the Oura App will promote Counsel’s ACCESS program to Oura Members and connect interested Members with Counsel. Counsel will independently confirm clinical eligibility and manage enrollment and care.

Deepening the Counsel and Oura partnership

Since May, Counsel and Oura have partnered to translate continuous health insights into on-demand, physician-led care. Oura gives members an ongoing view of changes in their health, while Counsel’s medical AI and physicians help interpret those signals and guide next steps.

Early results from Counsel and Oura’s existing partnership are encouraging. Since launch, members who saw a physician rated their care experience 4.6 out of 5, reflecting strong satisfaction with the quality and convenience of care.

That combination of continuity and accuracy of Oura’s biometric data, paired with on-demand, personalized care from Counsel matters most for the population this program serves. Members 65+ are among Oura’s most engaged age groups, ranking highly in daily app engagement. They are also well-positioned to benefit: 20% of Oura Members in this age group have a BMI of 30 or higher, underscoring the relevance of ACCESS’s focus on obesity and related chronic conditions.

“Earlier in the year, we partnered with Counsel to help Oura Members move from health insights to clinical action. The ACCESS program gives us the opportunity to study that model at scale, and to better understand how continuous biometric data, combined with physician-led care, can support Medicare beneficiaries managing hypertension, obesity, and other early cardio-kidney-metabolic conditions,” said Ricky Bloomfield, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Oura.

For Counsel and Oura, this is about giving Medicare beneficiaries a level of support that matches the complexity of what they’re managing. This program marks an important step in that work.

About Counsel Health

Counsel Health is the AI-native primary care company serving as the modern front door for consumers, health plans, digital health partners, employers, and health systems. Its clinically supervised model combines medical AI with in-house physicians to deliver immediate, high-quality care, resolving the majority of member needs within minutes. By replacing legacy access points like nurse triage lines and telehealth, Counsel helps partners reduce unnecessary downstream utilization, lower costs, and improve member engagement. Counsel is building the autonomous, longitudinal care model for the modern era with uncompromising safety.

About Oura

ŌURA is a health intelligence platform designed to transform how people understand and manage their health in everyday life. Oura’s platform is anchored by Oura Ring, the world’s leading smart ring that empowers you to live healthier, longer. Oura supports millions of members worldwide across sleep, activity, stress, readiness, women’s health, metabolic health, and heart health. Oura Ring is purpose-built to leverage the finger’s unique physiological advantages for photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement, producing a stronger signal than wrist-based wearables. The core metrics of the lightweight Oura Ring are scientifically validated against gold standards and the ring tracks 50+ health metrics continuously, empowering both individuals and thousands of research teams, healthcare providers, sports teams, and organizations. Trusted by an ecosystem of more than 1,200 partners, Oura is advancing the future of preventative health with privacy and security at the forefront.

Founded in Finland in 2013, Oura is headquartered in San Francisco with E.U. headquarters in Oulu, Finland.

Oura Ring is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, monitor, or prevent medical conditions or illnesses.

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