Starting in January, the federal government plans to launch a program in Arizona that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help decide whether Medicare patients can receive certain medical treatments. The WISeR pilot program could deny or delay care for seniors and people with disabilities—all in the name of cutting costs.

This decision is deeply concerning. AI tools like these are already being used in the private insurance industry, and they’ve been widely criticized for rejecting care without fully considering patients’ individual medical needs. Doctors, patients, and policy experts across the political spectrum have warned that these systems can do real harm—especially when they’re allowed to override the judgment of a patient’s own doctor.

Now the Trump administration wants to expand that same approach to traditional Medicare, starting in Arizona.

This program directly contradicts what government officials have publicly said about protecting access to care. In fact, just days before the pilot was announced, they admitted that the use of prior authorization—especially when powered by algorithms—has led to dangerous delays, denied treatments, and a loss of public trust in the health system.

We should not be experimenting on Arizona’s most vulnerable residents.

Seniors and people with disabilities rely on Medicare to get timely, medically necessary care. They deserve to be treated with dignity—not have their health decisions run through an algorithm that’s designed to save money.

We call on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz to immediately halt the WISeR pilot program in Arizona. And we urge Arizona’s congressional delegation to fight for patient protections and demand independent oversight before any AI-driven denial system is implemented.

People’s lives should never be reduced to data points. If you agree that patients—not profit-driven algorithms—should be at the heart of Medicare decisions, sign this petition now.