These AI systems are known for making huge errors and are not reliable, and now the tech companies are going to be paid explicitly for denying claims using AI.
Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures – A pilot program in six states will use a tactic employed by private insurers that has been heavily criticized for delaying and denying medical care. By Reed Abelson and Teddy Rosenbluth Aug. 28, 2025 The federal government plans to hire private companies to use artificial intelligence to determine whether patients would be covered for some procedures, like certain spine surgeries or steroid injections. Similar algorithms used by insurers have been the subject of several high-profile lawsuits, which have asserted that the technology allowed the companies to swiftly deny large batches of claims and cut patients off from care in rehabilitation facilities. The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections. (emphasis added)
Mehmet Oz needs to be held accountable.
My letter to reps:
Medical decisions should be made by healthcare professionals, not shoddy AI that we all know is not reliable and is prone toward a lot of mistakes. You can’t risk the health and lives of people on Medicare by allowing this. A computer can’t be held accountable, so a computer should not make any such decisions. But Oz should be held accountable for such a bad idea as paying some outside tech company for denying claims which is so obviously set up for adverse decisions.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.
Indivisible has a sample letter as well, with a form. But if you have the time to write something in your own words it’s more impactful. It’s also more likely to be given more weight if you at least copy paste something into the contact form on the webpages of your representatives. But if you don’t have time for that, here’s the indivisible page, with their sample letter:
Indivisible: Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s Plan to Let AI Deny Medicare Coverage https://act.indivisible.org/sign/trump-oz-medicare-ai The message to your Members of Congress: Hello, I’m one of your constituents, and I’m extremely concerned to hear that President Trump and Dr. Oz are letting greedy and unproven AI companies come between Medicare patients and their doctors. My coverage and healthcare decisions should be between me and my doctor – not AI companies who profit from denying me care. I’m writing to demand that you speak out LOUDLY against Trump and Oz’s plans to let AI choose who can and can’t get healthcare! Then, use the upcoming federal funding negotiations to restore the vital funds Medicare, Medicaid, and our hospitals need. I’ll be keeping a close eye on what you do to protect healthcare in the coming weeks.