Health insurance CEO can’t commit to safe AI practices in Congressional hearing

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep Robin Kelly (IL-02), member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, forcefully questioned UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley over his company’s authorization process. Over the last five years, there’s been an increase in reports of inappropriate AI authorization denials by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies. In some cases, UnitedHealth Group’s denial rate was 16 times higher than typical.

“I was deeply disappointed by United Healthcare’s inability to respond to my basic question of who determines health insurance denials. Mr. Hemsley could not assert whether AI is still improperly denying healthcare insurance claims,” said. Rep. Kelly. “As health insurance companies turn to AI technology, we must ensure that physicians and science-backed medicine guide all decisions. The Trump administration has gutted and broken our healthcare system, resulting in millions of Americans losing their coverage. Health insurance companies should not compound this healthcare crisis by weaponizing AI to deny Americans essential care.”

Rep. Kelly is also co-chair of the bipartisan Digital Health Caucus.