UnitedHealth CEO Steve Hemsley says AI cuts chart review time 33%

UnitedHealth's third-quarter earnings call revealed a broad push to embed AI into both clinical and administrative workflows. The company is expanding AI-enabled chart summarization to more than 40% of its employed clinicians, which it says has cut chart review time by 33%. It also uses AI for information gathering and research to reduce appeal cycle times by 26%.

These deployments come as patients increasingly expect digital access and home-based services. UnitedHealth's Optum Health arm saw a 27% year-over-year rise in online self-scheduling and a 10% increase in home health visits, while demand for care remains strong among seniors and complex-care populations. At the same time, specialty pharmacy costs continue to pressure affordability.

To address these strains, UnitedHealth says it is accelerating claims processing and re-engineering prior authorization policies, on pace to cut prior authorization volumes by 30%. The earnings showed third-quarter revenues of $112.7 billion, down slightly from $113.2 billion a year earlier, with earnings from operations at $6.6 billion compared to $4.3 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The broader context includes growing scrutiny of AI in health insurance. The Doctors Not AI Act, sponsored by Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), would prohibit automated systems from making final decisions on claim approvals.