Trump Administration's AI Program to Deny Medicare Care: A Devastating Downfall

AI-Driven Medicare Denials

• 🤖 The Trump administration is launching a pilot program that uses an AI algorithm called WISeR to make prior authorization decisions for some Medicare services.
• 🎯 This program is a federal expansion of prior authorization, a process already used by private insurers to deny healthcare services and treatments.
• ⚠️ The AI will be used for procedures including skin and tissue substitutes, electrical nerve stimulator implants, and knee arthroscopy, which the government claims are vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Consequences for Patients

• 💔 The use of AI in denying care is described as inhuman and potentially devastating, especially for seniors and those with disabilities.
• ❓ Patients denied care by an algorithm will face difficulties appealing decisions, as there will be no human to hold accountable, only an algorithm.
• 📈 This move is seen as prioritizing cost savings for the government and corporations over the well-being of individuals.

Broader Implications and Concerns

• 🚨 The expansion of AI in healthcare decisions raises fears of radicalization among those who feel abused by the system, especially when life-and-death decisions are made by robots.
• 📊 Polling indicates that a majority of Americans, across party lines, consider delays and denials of healthcare services by insurance companies a major problem.
• 📢 There is a call for legislation to protect people from the excesses of AI and mass data collection, with a plea for political candidates to address this issue.
• ⚖️ The discussion touches upon the influence of big money in politics and the perceived evil of one political side, leading to a sense of helplessness about how to enact change.