Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU) shares climbed Tuesday after the identity verification company secured a significant win with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The deal brings Clear's digital identity platform to Medicare.gov, marking a major expansion beyond airports and into the sprawling world of healthcare access.
What's Actually Happening Here
Starting in early 2026, Medicare.gov will use Clear's CLEAR1 platform for account creation, recovery, and provider access. Think of it as bringing the "skip the airport security line" company's technology to healthcare, except instead of speeding things up, the focus is on locking things down.
The timing makes sense. Healthcare identity theft has gotten alarmingly sophisticated, with synthetic identities and deepfake impersonation becoming real threats. Legacy verification methods aren't cutting it anymore, so CMS is upgrading to multi-layer authentication that aims to actually protect personal health data.
The Bigger Healthcare Tech Picture
This contract connects to a broader health-tech initiative CMS launched earlier this year under the White House, which is pushing for a more interoperable, patient-focused healthcare system. Clear's platform fits into that vision by offering secure, reusable digital identity tools that could eventually work across multiple healthcare touchpoints.
"Clear's mission is to make experiences safer and easier by securely connecting people to their true identity," said Caryn Seidman Becker, Clear's CEO. She highlighted the company's ongoing commitment to public-private identity partnerships.
The CLEAR1 platform is already certified to the high assurance standard NIST IAL2/AAL2 and complies with HIPAA regulations. Rolling it out on Medicare.gov could reduce fraud, cut down on identity-related support requests, and make access smoother for millions of Americans trying to navigate their healthcare.
Clear has been building momentum in healthcare, securing partnerships with Epic, Wellstar Health, University of Miami Health, and other health systems. The Medicare deal significantly expands that footprint.
YOU Price Action: Clear Secure shares traded up 7.40% to $34.98 Tuesday afternoon.