STAT+: Top Democrat demands more detail from Medicare insurers about their use of AI
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is pressing the nation\u2019s largest Medicare Advantage insurers to provide more detail about their use of artificial intelligence tools amid reports that these companies are rapidly increasing their reliance on the technology to help make decisions about patients\u2019 care and coverage.<\/p>\n
A copy of a letter sent to UnitedHealth Group, obtained by STAT, asks the company to inventory the AI products it is using for the evaluation of patient care or the payment of medical services. It also asks the company to describe any policies it\u2019s put in place since October 2024 to prevent AI tools from \u201cunduly influencing\u201d the work of human clinicians. Similar letters were sent to executives at Humana and CVS Health, which owns Aetna.<\/p>\n
The letter is a follow-up to a majority report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations<\/a> that found payment denials for care of seriously ill patients increased significantly after UnitedHealth and other large Medicare Advantage insurers began using AI and other predictive tools to help make coverage decisions. Blumenthal is the top Democrat on the subcommittee.<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n