Applying for benefits is time-consuming, frustrating, and expensive. Due to the complicated enrollment process, $142 billion in benefit funding goes unspent every year, and eligible families often forfeit critical support that could change their lives for the better.
When applying for benefits, individuals face systems that require separate applications for programs asking nearly identical questions, multiple office visits during work hours, and navigation of bureaucratic processes that would challenge anyone.
Dr. Alister Martin, an emergency room physician at Mass General Hospital and Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University, sees the human consequences of this system failure every day.
"What I see in the emergency department are people who come in because of failed public policy," Martin told participants in a recent InnovateUS workshop.
That unused money doesn't roll over like cell phone minutes—it simply disappears, taking with it opportunities to prevent the downstream crises that drive people to emergency rooms.
Lack of access to benefits translates into increased public expenditure elsewhere, creating a particularly cruel form of double inefficiency and profound inequality. To help solve this, Link Health, Martin's organization, has utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify enrollment processes and transform routine healthcare visits into benefit enrollment opportunities. Through this approach, they have enrolled 4,000 patients and distributed nearly $5 million in assistance.
Turning Redundant Applications Into Streamlined Enrollment
The current benefit enrollment system forces applicants to complete separate applications for programs that ask nearly identical questions. A Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application takes 30 minutes, a rental assistance takes another 30 minutes, and a utility assistance application adds 45 minutes. Few people have nearly two hours to spend on repetitive paperwork, especially when they're already struggling with work schedules, childcare, and transportation challenges.
Martin's team tackled this by using AI to identify commonalities across benefit applications and create what they call "benefit stacking." When someone qualifies for multiple programs, they answer shared questions—name, date of birth, address, income—once. The AI system then helps staff populate relevant fields across different applications, prompting only for unique information specific to each program.
"You can use AI to analyze public comments more efficiently, but the real power comes when you help people navigate multiple programs simultaneously," Martin explained.
Their dashboard shows patients enrolled in four programs at once through a single interaction—what Martin calls "a 4-for-1 combo."
You can apply this principle without sophisticated AI systems. First, start by mapping the data requirements across your agency's programs. Then, create master intake forms that capture information once and generate multiple applications. Even basic automation tools can help eliminate redundant data entry that drives applicants away.
Meet People Where They Are, Not Where You Think They Should Be
Link Health operates in healthcare waiting rooms because that's where its target population already spends time. Rather than expecting individuals to navigate to a separate benefits office during business hours, they embed services where people are present anyway.
However, this extends beyond healthcare settings. You can establish regular service hours at libraries, community centers, schools during parent pickup, or any location where your target population gathers naturally. The key is removing the additional burden of traveling to yet another government office.
Martin's team creates workforce capacity by partnering with universities that have pre-health programs. These students need clinical hours to graduate, Link Health needs staff, and the community gets expanded services. They train students as Certified Patient Navigators, providing legitimate workforce credentials while delivering services.
Consider similar partnerships with local colleges. Public administration, social work, or nonprofit management students could gain practical experience while extending your agency's reach into community locations.
Use AI to Enhance Human Connection, Not Replace It
Link Health's AI agent "LEO" helps staff handle routine data collection and automatically populates applications across multiple benefit programs, dramatically speeding up what used to take hours into a single, streamlined interaction. The technology excels at benefit stacking, remembering answers from previous applications and only prompting for unique information specific to each new program. When Leo determines someone qualifies for a program, applicants answer shared questions once while the system handles the complex cross-referencing behind the scenes.
However, this technological efficiency only makes sense because of the human-centered, in-person connection that anchors the entire process. Martin's team doesn't just provide technology to applicants—they sit directly with individuals "shoulder to shoulder," ensuring applications are completed and submitted successfully. While the AI handles the tedious data entry and form logic, navigators provide what technology cannot: trust, emotional support, and the persistence to see each enrollment through to completion.
This human-centered approach delivers profound results. Martin shared the story of Tim, one of their patient navigators, who helped a young mother who had recently lost one of her children. While the AI system enabled benefit stacking that secured multiple programs simultaneously, it was Tim's presence and guidance that helped a grieving mother navigate a complex moment and leave the clinic with $1,600 monthly in assistance—nearly $20,000 annually.
"Tim has never been part of an intervention or a program where his direct service resulted in nearly $20,000 of aid given to a patient," Martin said. "That's the beauty of the work we're doing." The technology amplifies human impact, but the human connection is what transforms a bureaucratic transaction into life-changing support.
When implementing technology solutions, ask whether new systems will help your staff spend more quality time with constituents. The goal is to remove barriers and friction so navigators can focus on what only humans can provide—building relationships, listening to unique circumstances, and ensuring no one falls through the cracks.
“AI is not the decision-maker. People are,” he said. “What we’re doing is using AI to take the friction out of the process so that our navigators can do what only humans can—build trust, listen, and guide.”
Moving Forward
Martin’s presentation demonstrates that improving benefit access requires both system-level thinking and human-centered implementation.
“Every barrier in the system is a policy choice—and every policy choice is an opportunity to fix it,” he said.
You can start small: identify one area where multiple programs require similar information and create a unified intake process. Or find one community location where you can establish regular service hours.
The InnovateUS workshop recording provides additional detail on Link Health’s specific implementation strategies. You can access it here.
