State lawmakers propose bill to regulate AI use in healthcare

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday announced plans to introduce legislation that would regulate how artificial intelligence can be used in the healthcare industry.

AI is being rapidly implemented across the health care industry by insurers, hospitals and clinicians to aid with patient care, billing, research, claims management, utilization reviews and assessments of cost-effectiveness, according to state reps. 

Arvind Venkat, Joe Hogan, Tarik Khan, Bridget Kosierowski and Greg Scott make up the bipartisan group planning to propose the legislation.

The legislation would provide new regulations for how AI is utilized and reported by insurers, hospitals and clinicians. These groups would need to provide transparency to patients and the public as to how AI is being used in their companies or practice settings.

“As the only physician in the General Assembly, I have seen the rapid growth of AI usage in health care in real time,” said Venkat, a Democrat representing Allegheny County. “I am grateful for my bipartisan colleagues, including fellow health professionals, who are joining me on this legislation to make sure Pennsylvanians can be confident that AI is being used responsibly and effectively in the health care industry.”

To prevent clinicians from overly relying on AI, the legislation would also ensure that a human decisionmaker would make the ultimate decision based on an individualized assessment when AI is used by insurers, hospitals or clinicians.

“AI certainly has the ability to enhance all aspects of human life, including the health care space – but it should never replace the expertise or judgement of health care clinicians,” said Scott, a Montgomery County Democrat. “I embrace technology and use it daily, but as an EMT, I know firsthand that understanding a person’s medical history and needs requires a human element that a computer algorithm cannot fully appreciate. I’m hopeful that this bipartisan effort will create a framework to support innovation, but not at the expense of human life.”

“As AI becomes a bigger part of our day-to-day lives, we must make sure it is not being over-relied on in our health care system,” said Hogan, a Republican representing Bucks County. “This legislation would make sure that there is still a human element in place when determining life and death decisions.”

The legislation would also require an attestation by insurers to the Pa. Department of Insurance and hospitals and clinicians to the Pa. Department of Health that bias and discrimination already prohibited by state law have been minimized in their usage of AI and the providing of evidence of how that determination was made.

“Getting an unjust denial from your insurance company is bad enough but knowing that AI and not humans are making the decisions is outrageous,” said Khan, a Philadelphia Democrat. “I’m proud to work on this bipartisan bill with Dr. Venkat and other legislators to help put patients back in charge of their care.”

“As a nurse for nearly 30 years, I know our health system depends on experienced human decision makers making assessments on an individualized basis,” said Kosierowski, a Democrat from Lackawanna County. “With the introduction of AI, we need experienced doctors and nurses even more now to assess the accuracy of AI to ensure that bias and discrimination haven’t influenced its findings. This bill would protect patients and provide the guardrails needed to ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively in the health care industry in our commonwealth.”

The lawmakers plan to formally introduce the legislation soon.