Hospitals' use of artificial intelligence tools in submitting insurance claims led to an additional $942 million in healthcare spending over a two-year period, according to an analysis by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The analysis, described in a report published on September 26, 2026, found a sharp increase in patients documented as having complex conditions and said there was no evidence of a corresponding change in the care delivered.
Blue Cross Blue Shield analysis finds hospital AI claims coding added $942 million in spending
Hospitals' use of artificial intelligence tools in submitting insurance claims led to an additional $942 million in healthcare spending over a two-year period, according to an analysis by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The analysis, described in a report published on September 26, 2026, found a sharp increase in patients documented as having complex conditions and said there was no evidence of a corresponding change in the care delivered.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association analysis found what it described as a sharp increase in patients being documented as having complex conditions, and said there was a clear disconnect between medical coding and treatment. The association said there was no evidence of a corresponding change in care delivered.
The New York Times, in a report dated September 24, 2026, cited the analysis as just the latest sign that AI is contributing to an increase in healthcare costs. The newspaper said that while battles between hospitals and insurers over treatments and payments are not new, the use of AI on both sides appears to be making the situation worse.
Dr. Shiv Rao, founder of the AI startup Abridge, said the use of AI could lead to what he called a horrible dystopic future nobody wants to live in, with bots fighting bots and agents fighting agents. Rao also said the technology might reduce tensions and cut costs.
Luke Chalker, a senior vice president at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, resisted characterizing the situation as a battle, saying insurers are on the losing side of it.
- The source does not state the specific two-year period covered by the analysis.
- The source does not describe the methodology or data sources behind the analysis.
- The source does not state the date the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association analysis was published.
- The source does not include any response from hospitals or hospital associations to the analysis.
- The source does not state whether the analysis was independently verified or peer-reviewed.
- The source does not state how the $942 million figure compares with total healthcare spending on claims in the same period.
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