Federal policy, new payment models and data-sharing reforms could shape whether emerging technologies lower costs — or accelerate spending.
The United States is grappling with a pervasive health care affordability challenge. Medical costs remain a top issue for consumers and businesses. The health care sector already consumes 18 percent of gross domestic product and is on track to continue to grow unless something changes. Meanwhile, advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies are rapidly transforming the health care sector, providing both opportunities to improve patient outcomes as well as new risks for patients and providers alike.
Whether AI adoption will lead to lower health care costs is another question. Past technological advances have done little to stop the upward march of health care spending — and, in some cases, have even accelerated it. Could AI be different?
To consider these questions, we convened the inaugural meeting of the WP Intelligence Health Care Council for a dinner discussion under the Chatham House Rule on Thursday to discuss the implications of evolving technology in medical care. The group included executives in the health care and tech sectors, former government officials, and two special guests currently serving in the Trump administration.
