AI Is Coming for U.S. Health Care
Doc's note: Artificial intelligence ("AI") hasn't just taken over the technology sector.
As Rob Spivey, director of research at our corporate affiliate Altimetry, explains, the new administration is using AI to drastically revamp health care in the U.S...
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Dr. Mehmet Oz runs the most powerful government agency you've probably never heard of...
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") has a $1.5 trillion budget... That's nearly one-quarter of the total federal budget.
And it doesn't just oversee Medicare (for older Americans) and Medicaid (for low-income folks). CMS influences the entire health care system...
It shapes health care policy and ushers in new technology. And according to Dr. Oz, AI is the key to CMS's future.
Most commercial health insurers follow its lead. This includes hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and at-home health care providers.
They're all likely to integrate AI technology at some point, if they haven't already. The same goes for other federal agencies as well.
As we'll discuss today, this goes hand in hand with a key Department of Government Efficiency ("DOGE") mandate. That, combined with specific AI advances, could dramatically revamp U.S. health care...
Most people focus on DOGE's cost-cutting initiatives...
But they're missing its real mandate, written into the executive order that created DOGE...
Its primary goal is "modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
The key here is technology... It's why Elon Musk and his team are preparing to unleash AI on the U.S. government, including CMS.
DOGE already uses tools, like the GSAi assistant, to analyze large amounts of data and pinpoint areas for improvement and automation.
The next steps involve training AI models and boosting efficiency. This could have a particularly big impact on CMS. For example...
AI could replace front-line health care workers...
At least according to Dr. Oz. He believes AI avatars could keep patients healthy while also lowering costs.
In a recent Guardian article, he noted that doctors' visits "cost roughly $100 an hour, compared with $2 an hour" for AI visits. So financially speaking, transitioning to AI seems like a no-brainer.
But this isn't feasible right now... AI can't yet replace the expertise doctors and nurses bring to the table. So it won't be making life-and-death decisions anytime soon.
Currently, there are more practical ways to integrate AI technology at CMS...
One example is streamlining the steps for prior authorization... Before any big operation, hospitals need approval from health care payers, be it government or commercial. AI could automate and speed up this process, ensuring better patient outcomes.
AI could also help detect fraud... CMS audits have found that Medicare and Medicaid lose about $100 billion a year due to fraud. AI could better identify waste and reduce these huge costs.
This just scratches the surface of what AI could do to cut into a $1.5 trillion CMS budget... without reducing critical services.
As AI continues to ramp up across federal agencies...
It will open up more opportunities for companies that help the U.S. government become more efficient...
This has us incredibly excited about the AI market.
After all, government agencies, like CMS, will lean on world-class experts to implement the latest AI technology.
And as we enter the automation phase of DOGE's mandate, a handful of companies will profit from these integrations.
Many of them are already in high demand in the private sector. And when these companies start winning government contracts, they're likely to become the gold standard for these projects.
Altogether, this will kick off a flurry of deals and send investors running to emerging leaders in the AI space.
Regards,
Rob Spivey
Editor's note: Tonight, Rob, alongside Professor Joel Litman, will take you "behind the scenes" at DOGE, with their single-most-valuable source in D.C. – a 25-year government veteran with unique insights into what's going on inside the government right now.
And they'll unveil the four specific moves you can make with your money today to land a string of potential 100%-plus returns as Phase II plays out.
It's all happening at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Click here to make sure you don't miss it.