Gillibrand Slams Trump Administration Ploy To Undermine Seniors’ Access To Treatment Under Traditional Medicare

Gillibrand Slams Trump Administration Ploy To Undermine Seniors' Access To Treatment Under Traditional Medicare

Sep 26, 2025

New Medicare WISeR Pilot Program Hands Seniors' Health Decisions to AI and Private Insurance Companies

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, is calling on the Trump administration to halt an experiment that would allow private insurance companies and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to delay and deny care to seniors enrolled in Traditional Medicare across six states.

Senator Gillibrand, along with Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), led 18 Senate Democrats in a call for the Trump administration to halt implementation of the pilot program until further analysis on patient access to care can be conducted.

"As the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, protecting and expanding access to Medicare is one of my top priorities," said Senator Gillibrand. "I'm deeply concerned that the administration's proposal will force seniors to jump through unnecessary hoops just to get the care they need. While technology can help improve health care delivery, this model will further burden physicians and harm seniors, who should not face the delay or denial of critical treatment at the hand of artificial intelligence."

Under the WISeR Model, participants are third-party vendors who will use AI to determine whether patients in Traditional Medicare would be covered for certain procedures. Although described as a voluntary model, WISeR is functionally mandatory for health care providers, suppliers and seniors in the six selected states: New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington. Clinicians who do not submit prior authorization requests for the selected services will face mandatory pre-payment medical reviews, adding administrative burden and potential care delays for people with Traditional Medicare.

The WISeR Model's burden on physicians and other health care providers is immense, particularly for those working in small or marginalized or low-income settings. Most important is the lack of clarity this demonstration provides about how beneficiaries will be notified, supported, or protected if prior authorizations are denied. Without strong patient-centered protections and appeals guidance, the model could unintentionally restrict access to necessary care.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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