Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution

Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has said “the best way to help some of these communities is going to be AI-based avatars” that connect rural patients to mental health services. AI is computer technology that performs tasks that.

It has the potential to improve the healthcare system by automating back-office work or identifying patients at risk, but several reports contend there’s little evidence AI can improve access to care and patient health in rural areas. Haffner said she’s worried about AI making.

What Happened

But Phillip Mues, who oversees technology at Cherry County Hospital and Clinic in rural Valentine, Nebraska, said AI is already helping clinicians save time, reduce burnout, and focus more on patient care. Still, Mues said, AI can’t fix every challenge.

• They are using some of their funding from the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program to expand AI among rural health organizations.

• Meanwhile, some rural Americans are skeptical, according to interviews with people in Hot Springs, South Dakota, a city of about 3,400 residents at the southern end of the Black Hills.

• The funding was intended to offset concerns about the outsize fallout anticipated in rural communities from the law, which is expected to reduce overall Medicaid spending by more than $900 billion over a decade.

Key Details

Rural hospitals at risk of closing or ending certain services probably can’t use AI to save enough money to prevent those consequences, he said. Congressional Republicans created the five-year Rural Health Transformation Program last summer as a last-minute sweetener to President Donald.

• A recent academic paper found that only 26 peer-reviewed studies about AI in rural healthcare were published from 2010 through April 29, 2025.

• Rural health facilities may not have fast-enough internet to use AI, while patients may have slow connections at home — if they have internet at all — or may not feel comfortable using AI.

• She said clinicians and staff may already be doing three jobs at once and not have time to go through AI training.

Why It Matters

Hot Springs, which has a 25-bed independent hospital and a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, is known for its sandstone buildings, veterans’ services, and, yes, hot springs. Residents must drive at least an hour for more advanced care.

• Huang, who has written about AI in rural healthcare, said rural hospitals and clinics may not have the hardware or IT staff needed to support the technology.

• I don’t have the time to chat with AI every day.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by KFF Health News as more details emerge