Trump admin using AI to deny medical care for seniors in disastrous experiment

In January, the administration of former President Donald Trump initiated a trial run of a program leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to approve or reject specific forms of care for Medicare beneficiaries, a federal healthcare initiative catering to seniors. Prior to this, doctors were not obligated to seek prior approval for such treatments.

However, shortly after, news outlets started reporting the adverse consequences associated with the program, such as technical glitches, protracted decision-making processes, and inexplicable denials of care. These issues, coupled with frustrated medical professionals and distressed patients enduring pain, were corroborated earlier this month when the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) obtained a set of federal documents pertaining to the program, known as WISeR, through litigation.

These documents featured input from healthcare providers, with one provider describing the program as "a disgrace to the human race" and witnessing patients in excruciating pain while awaiting treatment. In response to these alarming reports, lawmakers have been endeavoring to obtain clarification and potentially terminate the program.

Concurrently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in May that Trump administration officials had not adhered to proper protocol in establishing the program, casting doubt on its legitimacy. Despite this, the program seems to be progressing without interruption, with intentions to broaden its scope in the upcoming years.