UnitedHealth Group has 1,000 uses for AI technology currently in production across its insurance, care delivery and pharmacy businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported May 5.
The applications are split between generative AI and more traditional AI and are being used to transcribe clinician visits, help with claims processing and support chatbots, according to the report.
The company’s use of AI has grown rapidly. In May 2024, CEO Andrew Witty said UnitedHealth was running around 500 AI applications across the organization, specifically noting administrative support for clinicians and identifying disease progression more quickly. In April, Mr. Witty said the company had directed 26 million consumer calls using AI agents and expects AI to direct more than half of all customer calls by the end of 2025.
In 2023, UnitedHealth was sued for allegedly using an AI algorithm to wrongfully deny post-acute care to Medicare Advantage patients. In February, a federal judge dismissed a majority of the complaint but allowed the case to move forward. The company previously said the AI tool in question is not used to make coverage determinations.
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