AHIP Asks Feds to Table Proposal Aimed at Curtailing Biased Algorithms

October 7

The health insurance industry’s largest trade group is asking the Biden administration not to implement a proposal that would hold insurers responsible for discriminatory decisions made by clinical algorithms — saying HHS should instead work with stakeholders to better understand the issue.

The Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities Proposed Rule, which HHS rolled out in August, primarily serves to reinstate nondiscrimination regulations that the Trump administration unwound — for example, by specifying that sex-based discrimination encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposals apply to all health programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, such as hospitals that take Medicare patients and all health insurers that receive federal funding.

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Health Plan Weekly

Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.