Healthbridge US wins Rep. Thomas Suozzi’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in New York’s Third District
Rep. Thomas Suozzi has named Michael Cole, Emma Ding, Christine Chen, and Caren Ye of Chaminade High School, Great Neck South High School, Hunter College High School, and Jericho High School as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in New York’s Third District. Their app Healthbridge US connects underinsured individuals with affordable healthcare resources, clinics, and insurance information.
When asked what inspired the creation of Healthbridge US, the students said, “While working at a clinic in an underserved community, we observed numerous barriers that contributed to the growing healthcare divide in our current system. This community in Brooklyn was home to many low-income immigrants who weren’t native English speakers and faced economic barriers to accessing quality healthcare. Not only were they unable to communicate with physicians, but they were also unaware of the many benefits they could reap from federal programs like Medicaid. Thus, we created a platform for these individuals to access resources that were previously unavailable to them. With the HealthBridge app, we hope to take steps that close the growing healthcare divide.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.