A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report says healthcare AI may add nearly $1 billion to US health costs. Blue Cross companies’ costs rose $653 million from 2024 to 2025; hospitals received nearly $12,000 more per case on average through AI coding.
The association found billing codes were more complex in 2024 and 2025 than in 2023, even when there was no evidence patients received different treatment. For bowel surgery, codes including secondary conditions such as partial intestinal blockages and increased acid rose 55% and 33%, respectively, from the first quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2025.
McLaren Health Care CFO Dave Mazurkiewicz told The New York Times that insurers use AI to scan charts for claims to deny, while hospitals use the same records to document patients’ conditions and seek higher payments. Blue Cross representative Luke Chalker said the company does not use AI to process claims, but does use it to flag what he called inappropriate billing.
