Centene CEO says much of health care AI raises revenue, not savings

Sarah London, chief executive of Centene, said on October 12 that much of the artificial intelligence being deployed at scale in health care today serves what she called "inflationary use cases" — tools that generate more revenue under fee-for-service payment rather than lower the underlying cost of care, according to Fortune.

Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, California, London said AI can accelerate billing, automate paperwork and help providers capture more revenue without making care cheaper. She pointed to two areas she considers more promising: using AI to help community health workers triage non-acute cases in rural areas with scarce medical services, potentially avoiding emergency room visits, and giving patients interactive tools to handle early decisions about a health concern without a clinician visit. "Every dollar that we can save in the administration of health care, we can apply to benefits," London said.

Centene, a $33 billion company, runs Medicaid plans in 29 states along with marketplace and Medicare Advantage coverage, serving 26 million members whom London described as among the poorest and sickest in their communities.

Fortune also reported that Brian Erickson, previously finance chief of Suzy, was named chief financial officer of Runpod, and that Anne Giviskos, most recently interim CFO and chief accounting officer at Navan, was named CFO of MoonPay.

This story was first reported by Fortune.