The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) recently estimated that hospitals' use of AI-assisted medical coding contributed to close to $1 billion ($942 million) in additional costs for its health plans between 2023 and 2025. BCBSA stated that much of this increase came from secondary diagnoses that moved patients into higher-paying reimbursement categories, which may be derived from single laboratory values and are well suited for detection by AI tools. Roughly 70% ($653 million) of the identified billing was tied to additional diagnoses not accompanied by a change in care. The American Hospital Association (AHA) pushed back on BCBSA's analysis, arguing that AI tools help providers appropriately capture patient conditions for care planning and that the analysis lacks context.