Is Medicare piloting an AI program in Arizona to determine which patients receive care?

Yes.

Beginning in January 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will launch the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model in Arizona and five other states. The six-year pilot program will rely on third-party artificial intelligence companies to cut “wasteful” Medicare spending by streamlining the prior authorization process.

Under the WISeR Model, some treatments will newly require prior authorization, including therapies for Parkinson’s disease and pain-managing stimulator services often used for chronic pain. The AI system will review patient data and assess whether treatments meet established medical-necessity guidelines. 

While the program aims to reduce costs, policy experts have raised concerns about potential delays or denials of care, particularly in complex cases.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.

Sources

• WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) Model, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• CMS Launches WISeR Model to Target Waste by Leveraging (Broken) Prior Authorization System, Health Industry Washington Watch
• Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model Request for Applications (RFA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• New CMS WISeR Model Revives Concerns of Prior Authorization and Artificial Intelligence, Medicare Policy Initiative at Georgetown University