On Senate Floor, Murray Urges Colleagues to End Trump Administration’s AI Program that is Delaying and Denying Seniors’ Health Care

Murray: "People choose Traditional Medicare because they want to make their health care decisions with their doctor-not with a private company that's out to make a profit."

ICYMI: Murray, Cantwell Introduce Resolution to Overturn A.I.-Driven Program That's Overruling WA Doctors & Delaying Care for Seniors

***WATCH: Senator Murray's full speech***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), spoke on the Senate floor ahead of a vote on her Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn a new pilot program implemented by the Trump administration that's using artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct prior authorization in Traditional Medicare to deny or delay certain procedures for seniors.

In December last year, Senator Murray introduced the Seniors Deserve SMARTER (Streamlined Medical Approvals for Timely, Efficient Recovery) Care Act, legislation that would prohibit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model that began on January 1, 2026 and is set to last for six years in six selected states, including Washington state.

Senator Murray's remarks, as delivered, are below:

"I wanted to talk today about not just how Republicans are making health care more expensive, but also how they are making it just plain worse for seniors. President Trump came into office saying that he wouldn't cut Medicare. But that was clearly a lie. Because right now, his administration is trying to privatize Medicare-in part, by putting AI between Medicare beneficiaries and their health care!

"In January of this year-under Secretary Kennedy's and Dr. Oz's leadership-CMS began this pilot program that uses AI to require prior authorization in Traditional Medicare. For the first time ever. And it is set to run for 6 years. They call it the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model-well, they got the wasteful and inappropriate part right!

"The 'WISeR' Model uses AI to deny vulnerable seniors the care they need and that their doctors recommend. Not only that, but the for-profit contractors that conduct this prior authorization are paid a percentage of the cost of care that they deny. They are literally incentivized to rip health care away from seniors because that is better for their bottom line. When your business model relies on denials, denials are what seniors are going to get-and that is perverse.

"WISeR was rolled out in the beginning of this year in my home state of Washington and five other states, without safeguards, and without any transparency, and without the best interest of Medicare beneficiaries at the heart of the program.

"President Trump is saying: forget the doctors who went to medical school and took an oath to do no harm-AI knows better when it comes to health care decisions for our seniors. The consequences of that poor judgement are real and they are life threatening.

"I hear from Medicare patients in Washington state all the time who are suffering in debilitating pain for weeks because they are not getting the care they need, thanks to this harmful model.

"Patients like Joanne-she's a Medicare beneficiary from Quilcene, Washington. She went to her doctor for severe pain and an MRI showed that a herniated disc was pressing on her sciatic nerve. Joanne's doctor prescribed an epidural injection to help ease that pain. This was standard, routine care-care that, before this year, she would have been able to get quickly after it had been recommended by her doctor.

"But because of this WISeR model, she had to wait 6 weeks to get approval. That means that thanks to WISeR, Joanne had to deal with unnecessary, un[treated] pain for six weeks. Because of this nonsense delay, her day-to-day life was disrupted-and the burden fell on her then to fight for the care she needed.

"This is simply outrageous! But that is also WISeR working by design. And that is a direct impact of the Trump administration's actions.

"We've seen way too many stories like Joanne's from states that have been selected for this pilot program-no way should an algorithm decide if seniors should get the care that they need.

"That's why I joined my colleagues in introducing a resolution to overturn this model. And I want all of my colleagues to join me in voting for it so we can make sure seniors in my state and all over this country can once again receive their health care on time, without interruption.

"Let's just use our common sense: it is clear as day that some AI model should never be at the wheel making health care decisions left and right.

"And it's not just patients I hear from, I've met with health care providers all over my state. Whether it's a rural hospital or a doctor in Seattle-no one has had anything good to tell me about prior authorization in Traditional Medicare.

"Now I ran for office exactly because I believe regular people deserve a say in how their government is run-and that is especially true when it comes to the government deploying AI technology.

"I don't know any senior, Republican or Democrat, who asked President Trump to let AI decide if their doctor-recommended treatment was necessary. Of course, AI can help make things more efficient or do good things, but that's not what the WISeR model is doing!

"So, let's get to the crux of it, as a country, we make a promise to American seniors: if they paid their taxes throughout their careers, they earned their Medicare coverage. Full stop. WISeR breaks that promise to seniors with these senseless, AI driven prior authorizations that deny and delay care.

"Let me be clear, many seniors choose traditional Medicare over other options because traditional Medicare rarely requires prior authorizations. People choose traditional Medicare because they want to make their health care decisions with their doctor-not with a private company that's out to make a profit.

"Simply put, the WISeR model-which again delays and denies necessary care to Medicare patients-it is reckless and irresponsible.

"I want my Republican colleagues to join us in voting to get rid of WISeR once and for all, because M. President, this should not be a partisan issue.

"We all have seniors in our states that deserve the highest level of care, without having to deal with red tape and delays. Thanks to Trump, AI is getting in between seniors and their health care: in Arizona, in New Jersey, in Ohio, in Oklahoma, in Texas, and my state of Washington.

"We have an opportunity to stop this harmful, experimental pilot program before more seniors are harmed. No senior in America should have to appeal their pain and suffering to a machine.

"To my colleagues, if it was your spouse or parent who needed care, who would you want to decide if they get their treatment? Their doctor or a for-profit algorithm? Would you want them to suffer in pain for weeks for care they are entitled to?

"I know what my answer is. Let's maintain the promise of Medicare. Let's pass this resolution."

###