One week after the expiry of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced healthcare subsidies, Americans are starting to feel the pinch. Up through the end of 2025, around 24 million Americans used the subsidies to purchase healthcare at a discounted rate. That lifeline is now gone as the Senate remains deadlocked in renewal talks. But where there is crisis, one of the Internet age’s most prolific disruptors has spied opportunity.
Americans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to help decipher the thorny and ever-changing labyrinth that is the U.S. healthcare system. Three in five Americans say they recently used AI tools for health or healthcare queries, according to a survey published Monday by ChatGPT creator OpenAI. The survey was part of a larger report tracking similar trends globally. The report acknowledged difficulties with dealing with U.S. healthcare requirements are likely an important driver of this user trend.
“In the United States, the healthcare system is a long-standing and worsening pain point for many,” the report read. Tracking between 1.5 and 2 million health insurance-related messages each week, OpenAI found Americans use ChatGPT for everything from seeking diagnoses to comparing coverage plans and dealing with post-visit bills and claims.
