Democrats Move to Stop the WISeR Model

[Passages]

Lawmakers warn the WISeR model would replicate the worst abuses of Medicare Advantage, shifting life-or-death decisions to algorithms and for-profit contractors.

Wendell Potter
Nov 13, 2025

Several Democratic lawmakers are pushing back against the Trump administration’s plans to use artificial intelligence to assess the appropriateness and necessity of care for many seniors enrolled in the traditional Medicare program.

Alarmed by the proposal, a coalition of Democratic lawmakers – Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Kim Schrier, Greg Landsman, Ami Bera, and Mark Pocan — have introduced legislation called the Seniors Deserve SMARTER Care Act to block the program before it begins.

“The administration has publicly admitted that prior authorization is harmful, yet it is moving forward with this misguided effort that would make seniors navigate more red tape to get the care they’re entitled to,” said DelBene in a press release.

Pocan added: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the requirement of prior authorization for traditional Medicare services will kill seniors.”

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