It is the kind of horror story all too familiar to people with infirm elderly parents. But this one may have an additional twist: Recovering from a broken leg, Joanne Barrows may have lost her insurance coverage for rehab care because of a decision made using artificial intelligence.
According to a class action lawsuit filed in December in federal court in Louisville seeking $3 billion in damages, the nightmare for Barrows and her family began in November 2021 when the then-86-year-old fell at her home in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and fractured her leg. She was admitted to a hospital, where she was placed in a cast and put on a non-weight-bearing order for six weeks.
On Nov. 26, she was transferred to Good Samaritan Society Ambassador rehabilitation facility in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. But on Dec. 9, Humana informed her it was terminating her coverage in two days, after approximately two weeks of care.
Barrows and her family appealed Humana’s denial, but their efforts were unsuccessful.