UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges

Abstraction: UnitedHealth AI algorithm denying Medicare elderly rehab care wrongfully

Key points:

• UnitedHealthcare uses an AI algorithm called nH Predict (developed by subsidiary NaviHealth) to determine post-acute care eligibility for Medicare Advantage patients
• Lawsuit (US District Court, Minnesota) alleges the model has a 90% error rate and overrides physicians' judgments to deny needed care
• Elderly patients denied care were forced out of rehab/nursing facilities prematurely and drained personal savings for care that should have been covered
• In use since at least November 2019; class-action sought, potentially tens of thousands affected
• Stat News investigation corroborated claims via internal NaviHealth documents and interviews with former employees
• Former NaviHealth case manager: "It takes the dignity out of the patient, and I hated that"

Connections: Unitedhealth · Navihealth · AI Ethics · Algorithmic Decision Making · Healthcare AI

Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/ai-with-90-error-rate-forces-elderly-out-of-rehab-nursing-homes-suit-claims/