If headlines are any indication, the use of AI in health care has the attention of policymakers, payer and provider organization executives, and clinical professionals. And one of the first major flashpoints is prior authorization. Just in the past couple of weeks, there have been new developments on the prior authorization front—from federal recommendations calling for increased transparency and human oversight of automated authorization decisions to new AI-powered tools designed to help consumers challenge denied claims and navigate medical billing disputes (see MACPAC Calls For Increased Transparency In Medicaid AI Prior Authorization and AI vs. AI: Patients Deploy Bots To Battle Health Insurers That Deny Care).

And on the consumer side, more Americans are turning to…