Committee adopts Elkins amendment to require human oversight of automated decision systems in utilization review

Representative Elkins introduced and the committee adopted an amendment to the omnibus bill that deletes the artificial‑intelligence definition in section 9 and replaces it with broader language covering “any form of automated processing,” while adding a human‑in‑the‑loop requirement for utilization‑review denials.

Elkins argued that lawmakers should regulate use cases rather than attempting to name specific technologies, because technology evolves too quickly to be captured by a static definition. “You should never actually name the technology. You should describe what it does,” Elkins said, recounting guidance he said he received from law‑school faculty about durable legislative drafting. He described the amendment as ensuring that, regardless of whether a system is labeled AI, “if they’re using automated decision support technology, there’s got to be a human in the loop.”

Counsel and the chair confirmed the amendment’s intent relates to denials in utilization review — making clear that organizations may not rely exclusively on automated systems to make adverse coverage determinations. The chair called the question after discussion and the amendment passed by voice vote.

There was no recorded roll‑call tally in the transcript. The committee recessed following the vote and said chairs planned to meet briefly before returning to the floor to conclude remaining items.

Next steps: The amendment will be incorporated into the omnibus language as adopted by the committee and will follow the normal legislative process for floor consideration and final enactment.