But preventing violence is not a zero-sum effort. In fact, limiting one kind of violence might create a culture that models limiting other kinds of violence. We cannot discount one effort because of a fear of unintended consequences. Do what we can and see.
Regarding “Medicare will require AI-driven approval for certain procedures” (Aug. 30): The death panels, i.e., the claim that the Affordable Care Act would establish a committee to decide which people were “worthy” of medical care that Republicans howled about in their opposition to the ACA, seem to be finally coming to pass at their behest. Some of the largest sources of Medicare fraud originate from corrupt health care providers, common methods being false billing and upcoding, all of which can occur after a procedure is “approved.” The most effective way to cut fraud is to ramp up the investigative means of combatting it, such as the multiagency Medicare Fraud Strike Force (around 94% conviction rate) and passing legislation to make billing and coding more transparent.
Reliance on faulty algorithms, as the Republicans are suggesting, will do nothing but add layers of bureaucracy and red tape, perhaps endangering lives, and is not an effective way to fight Medicare fraud.