Everyone agrees AI scribes are increasing health care costs. No one agrees what to do about it

Summary: Hospitals and doctors love new artificial intelligence (AI) tools that listen to patient visits and automatically write down the medical notes. These "AI scribes" are great because they help doctors avoid burnout. But they also help doctors bill insurance companies for a lot more money by catching every single medical code.

Now, insurance companies are complaining loudly in public. They say doctors are using AI to make healthcare way too expensive for everyone. However, behind closed doors, the story is a little different. At a recent private meeting held by the Peterson Health Technology Institute, everyone—doctors, insurers, and investors—agreed on one thing: AI is absolutely driving up healthcare costs by increasing how much is billed. No one just knows how to fix it yet!

For more details, see rssapp-statnews-com at statnews.com/2026/04/08/insurers-providers-agree-ai-scribes-raise-health-care-costs/ (opens in new tab)