Trump’s AI-Powered Attack on Medicare
Donald Trump and Dr. Oz are rolling out a pilot program to fundamentally change Medicare
A huge, huge story broke just before the holiday weekend, but hardly anyone is talking about it. Let’s change that, shall we?
Here’s the story: Donald Trump and Dr. Oz* are rolling out a pilot program to fundamentally change Medicare. They want to require seniors to get prior authorization for some healthcare services, and here’s the kicker: Artificial Intelligence (AI) gets to decide whether medical care is approved or not.
Believe it or not, it actually gets worse when you dig into the details of these “AI Death Panels,” which we’ll do in a moment, but if you’re already caught up on this story, here’s what you can do right now:
Introducing AI Death Panels
Medicare has historically covered more procedures, with fewer hoops to jump through, than for-profit insurance companies. Whereas private insurers callously limit care and require “prior authorization” before covering many services or procedures, Medicare offers broad coverage that’s comparatively transparent and simple.
Not anymore, if Trump and Oz get their way. The Trump regime wants to introduce prior authorization—one of the most hated aspects of private insurance—to Medicare, and they’re outsourcing those life-changing authorization decisions to unproven AI companies.
It gets even worse: AI developers will be paid based on the value of requested services or procedures they reject—meaning AI companies would directly profit from denying needed care to senior citizens.
In short, if a computer program decides you “don’t need” a medical procedure—even if your doctor recommended it—an AI executive gets paid while you get left holding the bag.
Remember when the GOP invented the term "death panel" in their scare campaign to stop the Affordable Care Act? That was totally manufactured nonsense. But this is actually happening. Trump is rolling out real-life AI death panels.
What happens now
These for-profit AI Death Panels will roll out this January in six pilot states: Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. The pilots will reportedly be limited to about 17 procedures to start, but if they achieve their goal—cutting costs by denying a lot of people a lot of care—they could expand to more procedures and more states.
This attack on Medicare creates massive political risk for Trump and his GOP enablers in Congress. Medicare is one of the most popular public programs in U.S. history, and hard working people typically don’t respond well when politicians interfere with their health decisions.
That gives us an outside chance of swaying enough congressional Republicans to take action to stop AI Death Panels before they roll out—or failing that, we can make them pay a huge political price in 2026.
Step one: Let ‘em hear it. Give ‘em hell.
This is only the latest dystopian move in Trump and Republicans’ campaign to systematically dismantle our healthcare system at the behest of corporate backers and billionaires. With a huge federal funding deadline around the corner, now is the time to fight back hard.
- Indivisible
*Did you forget that Trump picked (and GOP Senators confirmed) another disgraced TV star, Dr. Oz, to run the federal agency in charge of Medicare and Medicaid? That’s right, millions of senior citizens’ healthcare is in the hands of a famous snake-oil salesman!
Where's AARP? They should be a loud and powerful voice in this fight!
I went to the dr office yesterday for my preop visit for cataract surgery.
Mind you, I was a surgeon at this hospital.
There was a form that they wanted me to sign that made me financially responsible for any charges that “insurance” didn’t cover.
WTF, I am being charged $600 a month for my Medicare premium. I am straight regular Medicare, not the BS advantage.
So when I declined to sign the form, I was told that I wouldn’t get surgery.
Yeah, death panels sound about right.
Just adds insult to injury…
Welcome to tRump’s Amerikkka.