Reads the denial
It parses your 835 remittance files and explains the CARC and RARC codes behind each denied claim.
Claims Denial Navigator · Rural Health
Part of Rural Healthcare
Work denied Medicare and Medicaid claims faster, with Microsoft’s free AI tool.
Microsoft built a free AI tool that helps your billing team work denied claims. We help you tailor it and get it running in your own Microsoft environment.
- The tool
- Free from Microsoft
- Setup call
- Free, 30 minutes
On the call
- Your denial volume and where the tool fits
- Your Microsoft licensing and Azure readiness, checked
- A clear choice: install it yourselves, or run a short pilot with us
Want help deploying it? We can deploy it for you; we scope it on the call.
Book a free setup call
Rather pick a time now? Choose a time on our calendar (opens in a new tab). Not sure this is the right first step? Take the three-minute Opportunity Finder
The Claims Denial Navigator is Microsoft’s tool, not a Centered Networks product. Tool details on this page come from Microsoft’s published material.
Tool details checked against Microsoft’s material: October 21, 2026
What it is
An AI tool from Microsoft’s Rural Health AI Innovation Lab.
Microsoft’s Rural Health AI Innovation Lab (RHAIL) built the Claims Denial Navigator with rural health leaders. It is free to download on GitHub, and Microsoft makes it free for any provider that uses 835 and 837 files, rural or not, nonprofit or not.
Suggests a resolution
It suggests how to resolve each denial, using payer guides plus your own policies and documentation.
Works beside your EHR
It is standalone and EHR-agnostic, so no EHR interface is needed. Your team acts in the EHR or billing system it already uses.
Built on Microsoft tools
A model-driven Power Apps app, SharePoint, and Azure OpenAI.
Helps new billing staff learn
Microsoft notes it can double as a training tool for new billing staff.
Version 1.0 is tailored to Medicare and Medicaid claims. Microsoft says it can be extended to commercial payers and Medicare Advantage. See the code on GitHub (opens in a new tab), watch Microsoft’s demo video (opens in a new tab), or read Microsoft’s overview (opens in a new tab).
How it works
Three steps, and your specialist makes the call.
Your data
Your data stays in your Microsoft tenant.
The Navigator runs in your hospital’s own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Files sit in your SharePoint, and the Azure resources and data stay in your Azure tenant.
What it costs to run, per Microsoft
These are Microsoft’s estimates from its FAQ. Your costs depend on your claim volume and licensing, and we check them with you on the setup call.
| What it runs on | Microsoft’s estimate |
|---|---|
| Azure | About $100 to $150 a month for an organization with 2,000 Medicare and Medicaid claims at a 15% denial rate. |
| Power Apps Premium | 4 to 8 users. At nonprofit pricing ($2.50 per user per month), 6 users is about $180 a year. |
| SharePoint | Part of the standard Microsoft 365 license. |
| Azure credits | Microsoft’s FAQ says independent critical access hospitals and rural emergency hospitals on Microsoft nonprofit pricing receive $2,000 in Azure credits a year, which can cover the Azure cost. |
Where we help
The GitHub release is a starting point. Tailoring it is the work.
Microsoft says download, install, and setup take about 1.5 hours. That assumes Azure OpenAI, a Power Platform environment, and licensing are already in place. Then the tool has to fit your hospital: your payer guides, your policies, your 835 flow, and the way your billing team works. For a lean billing team with payer-specific rules and limited IT time, that fit is the hard part.
Installing it yourselves? Get it on GitHub (opens in a new tab), and send us your questions along the way.
We can deploy it for you; we scope it on the call. Microsoft licensing and Azure consumption are separate. The Navigator is part of Microsoft’s rural health resources; for help with the wider program, see Rural Resiliency Readiness.
The setup call
What we will ask on the call.
Rough numbers are fine. They tell us how big the denied-claims problem is for your hospital, and whether you can install the tool yourselves or want a pilot with us.
- How many claims you submit a month, by payer, and your denial rate
- Roughly what your denied claims are worth a month
- How long a denial takes to work today, and how many you resubmit or overturn
- Who owns your 835 files
- Your Microsoft licensing: nonprofit grant, Business Premium, or something else
- Whether you already have an Azure subscription
Questions about the tool and the setup.
Is the Claims Denial Navigator really free?
Yes. Microsoft makes it free to download on GitHub for any provider that uses 835 and 837 files, rural or not, nonprofit or not. You still pay for what it runs on: Azure, Power Apps Premium licenses, and the Microsoft 365 license that includes SharePoint.
Is the free version enough on its own?
Sometimes. The GitHub release is a starting point, not a finished system for your hospital. Teams with Power Platform skills on staff can install it and tailor it themselves. Most small hospitals want help fitting it to their payer guides, their policies, their 835 flow, and the way their billing team works.
Which claims does it work on?
Version 1.0 is tailored to Medicare and Medicaid claims. Microsoft says it can be extended to commercial payers and Medicare Advantage.
Do we need to connect it to our EHR?
No. It is standalone and EHR-agnostic, so no EHR interface is needed. Your billing specialist reviews each suggestion and acts on it in your EHR or billing system.
Where does our data go?
It stays with you. The Navigator runs in your hospital’s own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Files sit in your SharePoint, and the Azure resources and data stay in your Azure tenant.
What does it cost to run?
Microsoft estimates Azure at about $100 to $150 a month for an organization with 2,000 Medicare and Medicaid claims at a 15% denial rate. It also needs Power Apps Premium for 4 to 8 users; at nonprofit pricing of $2.50 per user per month, 6 users is about $180 a year. SharePoint is part of the standard Microsoft 365 license. Microsoft’s FAQ says independent critical access hospitals and rural emergency hospitals on Microsoft nonprofit pricing receive $2,000 in Azure credits a year, which can cover the Azure cost.
What does Centered Networks charge?
The setup call costs nothing. If you want our help, we scope a short pilot on the call, sized to what your environment already has in place, and confirm the scope with you before any work starts. Microsoft licensing and Azure consumption are separate.
Can we work with Microsoft directly?
Yes. The code is on GitHub (opens in a new tab), and Microsoft’s rural health team can be reached at ruralhealth@microsoft.com. If you install it yourselves, we are glad to answer questions along the way.
Book a free setup call.
Thirty minutes. We look at your denial volume, your Microsoft licensing, and your Azure readiness, then tell you whether to install it yourselves or start a short pilot with us.
Rather pick a time now? Choose a time on our calendar (opens in a new tab).
Want a quick read on other priorities first? Take the three-minute Opportunity Finder (no email needed).
Thanks, we’ve got it.
We will reply within one business day to set up your call. Want to pick a time now? Choose a time on our calendar (opens in a new tab).