Record number of AI devices hit Medicare premiums, and researchers fear over-prescribing

The additional payments for new technologies, paid two to three years after market entry, have never benefited as many AI tools as they did in 2026.

Medicare has a discreet lever to accelerate the adoption of recent medical technologies: new technology add-on paymentsa premium paid to hospitals using a newly authorised device for two to three years after its entry into the market. In 2026, a record number of tools based on artificial intelligence met the criteria.

The mechanism responds to a well-documented economic reality: institutions are primarily adopting technologies that can demonstrate lower costs, and many clinical AI tools cannot yet do so. The bonus fills this hole by providing additional income during the critical phase where the evidence is still lacking.

This is precisely what some researchers are concerned about: by making the use of a device whose clinical usefulness is not established profitable, the incentive may encourage excessive use rather than reasoned adoption. The article is part of STAT's "Paying for AI" series on the effect of AI clinical tools on the cost of care.