Committee approves amendment requiring human review when insurers use AI to deny treatment

The committee approved a substitution to HSP 63 requiring that an insurer denial of a therapeutic or surgical treatment plan receive a human reevaluation rather than be left solely to an automated system. The chair said the bill had “reached a compromise with some of the insurance carriers” and described the change: “What this bill does is if there's a denial, then they have to go back and get a human to reevaluate it.”

During committee discussion members examined the substitute language and a procedural motion was made to move the item up on the agenda; that motion was seconded by Senator Gavan. The chair completed a roll call and announced the committee’s action on the bill as a favorable report, recorded in the transcript as “9 yes, 1 abstain.”

The substitution narrows the insurer practice at issue to requiring human review of denials; the transcript indicates the substitute emerged from compromise discussions with insurers but does not provide substitution text or specify enforcement mechanisms.

Next steps for HSP 63 were not recorded in the excerpts beyond the committee’s favorable report.