1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing because I am adamantly opposed to the use of AI to make decisions about healthcare. Please work to ensure that Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare *do not use* Artificial Intelligence to make prior authorization decisions. This includes practices by current Medicare Advantage insurers, and the planned Medicare pilot program of the so-called “WISeR” model, designed to reduce the provision of medications and services in the future. I beg of you not to allow Artificial Intelligence (which is a misnomer as it is not at all "intelligent") to review treatments prescribed by human doctors, who have both training and actual intelligence. A recent Senate subcommittee report on the use of AI in decision-making points to serious concerns. During the period that UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS adopted AI tools, denials of authorization increased by 54% to 108%, depending on the insurer. These denials represent thousands of real people with real diagnoses and real medical needs being denied access because AI said so. This is appalling. Between 2020 and 2022, when it first started using AI, UnitedHealthCare more than doubled its denials of post-acute care such as rehab facilities and nursing homes. A 2024 AMA survey of 1,000 physicians found that 61% reported that the use of AI increases denials and harm to patients. Medicare Advantage’s use of AI resulted in sharp increases in delays, denials, and lawsuits, and the upcoming pilot program for traditional Medicare puts more patients at risk. Don’t let CMS sell out patient care to AI corporations. We need humans making decisions about human health.