The Trump administration is pushing hard to make artificial intelligence a core component of medical care across the United States. Federal health officials are actively working to fund and deploy AI agents capable of diagnosing patients and prescribing treatments, a move that is reshaping how the government approaches healthcare, as reported by the New York Times.
This aggressive strategy is centered at the Department of Health and Human Services. While the goal is to improve health outcomes and reduce costs, the rapid pace of development has caused significant friction. Some officials involved in these discussions have expressed deep concerns that the technology is being rolled out without enough evidence to prove it is safe or effective. There is also growing unease regarding the heavy influence of Silicon Valley investors who are suddenly playing a major role in federal health policy.
One of the most vocal advocates for this shift is Vinod Khosla, a billionaire venture capitalist. He has been influential in talks with top department officials, including the head of Medicare and Medicaid, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Khosla has long predicted that human doctors will be replaced by AI, stating at an event in July, “It’s over for doctors, human doctors. A.I. is just going to be better.” He has been particularly active in promoting Curai Health, a company founded by his son, Neal Khosla, as a solution for providing rapid primary care to underserved populations.
The administration is currently developing a new payment category for Medicare, which serves over 60 million older Americans
This new payment category would allow the government to reimburse companies for AI software that supports diagnosis or care. Medicare officials are also pushing private insurers to cover these technology-supported projects.
While the FDA has approved over 1,500 medical devices that use AI for specific tasks like spotting tumors, it does not currently have a framework for autonomous AI that acts like a physician. Despite this, Medicare has allowed more than 200 companies to launch pilot programs. One such pilot involves an AI chatbot named Hope, which provides talk therapy to Medicare beneficiaries dealing with anxiety or depression. The company behind this, Limbic, claims that one clinician can supervise thousands of AI therapists.
Another initiative under the health department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency involves a project called Advocate. This effort aims to use autonomous AI to manage care for heart failure patients, including the ability for a chatbot to prescribe and adjust medications. Dr. Haider Warraich, who is involved in the project, noted that the goal is to bring clinical AI to the bedside.
Not everyone is on board with this trajectory. Dr. John Whyte, the chief executive of the American Medical Association, argued that models intended to render care independently “are not ready for prime time.” He cautioned that the current approach feels like the tech industry is driving medical policy rather than the clinical community.
Internal tension has also flared over how these systems are overseen. Last week, the health department announced it had appointed Jared Seehafer to a new role as deputy commissioner for technology and artificial intelligence. People familiar with the situation suggest Seehafer wants to reduce agency oversight of medical AI. This has led to clashes with career staff, including Dr. Michelle Tarver, who has pushed for expert scientists to lead the regulation of AI software to ensure patient safety.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has acknowledged the potential dangers of the technology, noting it could go rogue, but he remains a strong proponent of its potential to revolutionize medicine.
Published: Sep 14, 2026 03:52 pm