(Kennedy Felton)
The bill to keep artificial intelligence out of medical decisions is one step closer to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk.
Lawmakers pushed the law until Thursday after an overwhelming majority vote in the state House of Representatives.
(Speaker of the House of Representatives: “58 ayes members, zero, no, two will not vote. You have handed House Bill 2175.”)
Your doctor or other healthcare provider should personally verify your medical claim or previous approval in exchange for using AI.Essentially, AI cannot be used to deny medical care, which requires the expertise of a doctor.
Once the review is made, the bill says that the claim will be sent to the insurance company for the usual process to determine whether the claim will be denied or not.
State Rep. Julie Willoughby (Will O’B) sponsors House Bill 21-75 and says it will protect those seeking health care.
(Julie Willoughby: “We want this to not hinder health care with advances in AI algorithms in almost every part of our lives”))
A spokesman for the Arizona Medical Association says relying on AI instead of medical judgment will affect all patients and raise concerns. Diseases and conditions may overlap between patients, but not all cases are black and white
Surveillance of AI in medicine has been growing debate for many years, and was strengthened in 2023 when the American Medical Association revealed that Cigna (Sig-nuh) refused more than 30,000 insurance claims through technology.
If a doctor violates the proposed law, it could constitute non-professional conduct and potentially lead to disciplinary action by the state medical board.
Arizona is not just pushing AI regulations. This year, California law came into effect with similar restrictions, requiring doctors to oversee how doctors use AI to approve, modify or reject medical requests.
The use of AI was introduced to stir conversations among lawmakers in Nebraska, Texas and Illinois, and to regulate whether doctors can use it in medical decisions.
To become law. The law requires similar approval in the Arizona Senate before it can reach the governor’s desk for signing.
For the news about Straight Arrow, it’s Kennedy Felton
