Comptroller Sean Scanlon Announces New Protections Against Artificial Intelligence On State Health Plans

September 16, 2026

New policy keeps humans at the center of healthcare decisions

(HARTFORD, CT) – Comptroller Sean Scanlon today announced, amid increasing warnings against the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence, sweeping new protections for more than 270,000 members of the State Employee Health Plan and Partnership Plan against adverse healthcare impacts caused by AI.

“You and your doctor should make your health care decisions, not artificial intelligence,” said Comptroller Scanlon. “Today I am putting new safeguards in place to protect the 270,000 patients on the plan that I run, and next year I hope to work with the legislature to put these in place for all Connecticut residents.”

The five pillars of the new policy are:

1. Protecting Patients: No adverse determination may be made solely by an AI system, and they must always be reviewed by a human.
2. Protecting Providers while Preserving Contracts: Carriers cannot use AI or predictive models as the sole basis to downcode claims, reduce provider payments, or alter billing codes without human review. Authorized contractual and automated claims processes remain permitted.
3. Protecting Privacy: State health plan member data must be securely protected, and cannot be used to train, develop or support other AI models.
4. Person-to-Person Communication: No one should be interacting with AI thinking it is human. Carriers and providers must disclose when AI is materially assisting with, directly interacting, or recommending a benefit or health service to a member.
5. Transparency Audits and Accuracy: AI systems need to follow best practices and be validated against historical data for accuracy, consistency, and fairness. Carriers must disclose governance and audit procedures to the Comptroller.

“Artificial intelligence should never be allowed to make healthcare decisions without meaningful human oversight,” said Mariam Hakim-Zargar MD, President of the Connecticut State Medical Society. “Comptroller Scanlon’s policy is an important step toward stopping automated denials and downcoding from replacing clinical judgment. Patients and physicians deserve healthcare decisions made by people, not algorithms.”

“If disparities existed in the system yesterday, we don’t want technology to simply make those disparities faster or more efficient tomorrow,” said Health Equity Solutions Executive Director Ayesha Clarke. “So, just like we should with human oversight, we should examine whether an AI system’s recommendations and outcomes are equitable across populations. HES sees this policy as an important foundation.”

“We have to be proactive in safeguarding people’s healthcare as artificial intelligence grows,” said Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group Tom Swan. “CCAG commends Comptroller Scanlon for taking the initiative on this front. This policy will be instrumental in protecting patients.”

Comptroller Scanlon will work with the legislature to extend this policy to cover all state-regulated insurance plans during the 2027 legislative session.

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