ATLANTA — Governor Brian Kemp has signed new legislation into law that places restrictions on how insurance companies can use artificial intelligence when making healthcare coverage decisions.
The measure, sponsored by State Senator Kay Kirkpatrick, requires a human to remain involved in the decision-making process if an insurance company plans to deny medical treatment or coverage.
“This bill basically says that you can use AI, but if you’re going to deny someone’s medical treatment there has to be a human in the process,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick, who is also a doctor, said the law is designed to protect patients while still allowing innovation in the healthcare industry.
“These are life or death things, sometimes they affect people’s healthcare, and so it’s very important that we keep a human in the process,” Kirkpatrick said.
The legislation blocks health insurance companies from using artificial intelligence alone to make coverage decisions.
“That’s very important because we have worked for years on defining who can make those decisions, and it should be a clinical pair, it should be someone who knows something about what you’re talking about,” Kirkpatrick said.
The new law requires a person to sign off on a decision to deny a claim. Kirkpatrick said the legislation is not intended to stifle innovation.
“We don’t want to stifle innovation but we believe it is important for everyone to know that a human is reviewing claims and making what are potentially life and death decisions,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick also said lawmakers are continuing to work to keep pace with rapidly changing technology.
“And many times the technology gets ahead of the law and so we have to keep up and try every year to make things easier for consumers,” Kirkpatrick said.
The law takes effect in January.
The legislation comes as states and the federal government continue debating new safeguards surrounding artificial intelligence.
An executive order from the White House last year threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from states that enact what it called “excessive” AI regulations.
New reports also suggest the Trump administration may soon establish an AI review panel that could create a review process for all new AI models.
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.
