The article warns that AI is rapidly becoming a gatekeeper in prior authorization, with algorithms increasingly making or influencing medication approval decisions that can affect patient access to care. While payers promote AI as an efficiency tool, critics argue that opaque automated denials could amplify existing biases, undermine physician judgment, and worsen clinician burnout.
The author calls for stronger safeguards—including explainable decisions, human oversight, equity audits, clinician involvement, and patient transparency—to ensure AI improves access rather than becoming a barrier between patients and needed treatment.