Blue Cross says hospitals' AI coding tools added nearly $1B in costs over two years.

A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report, covered by the New York Times, finds billing codes were more severe in 2024 and 2025 than 2023 with no evidence treatment changed, attributing the shift to AI scanning records and ambient scribes surfacing secondary conditions. Hospitals counter that insurers use AI to scan charts for denials. (Reuters writeup) Both sides are right and both are using models to extract value from the same documents, with patients holding the bill. This is the first large-dollar case I've seen of AI-versus-AI adjudication as an actual cost center.