Healthcare Finance: 37% use generative AI

PayZen said on May 15 that 37% of health systems are using generative AI in revenue-cycle operations, according to its second annual 2026 State of Healthcare Affordability: The Provider Perspective report. Healthcare Finance News, which reported the findings, said the survey covered more than 200 healthcare revenue leaders and was conducted in partnership with the Healthcare Financial Management Association, or HFMA. The report also found that 45% of health systems are applying AI to denial-related workflows, making denials the most common use case cited in the survey. ### Where is AI showing up first inside hospital finance teams? Denial-related workflows led the list at 45%, according to the PayZen survey reported by Healthcare Finance News. The same findings said 20% of larger health systems reported deploying AI across prior authorization, while another 20% said they were using it for patient access and scheduling and 20% for financial assistance and eligibility workflows. (healthcarefinancenews.com) More than 1 in 3 health systems, or 37%, said they are already using generative AI within the revenue cycle, PayZen said. Among larger health systems, adoption rose to 48%, according to the report summary carried by Healthcare Finance News and financial news syndication outlets. ### Who produced the survey, and how broad was it? (healthcarefinancenews.com) PayZen, which sells a patient affordability platform, released the report this week. Healthcare Finance News said the research was based on a nationwide survey of more than 200 healthcare revenue leaders and was done in partnership with HFMA. (healthcarefinancenews.com) HFMA has published separate survey work showing broad interest in automation and AI for finance operations. In a 2025 HFMA survey of 272 healthcare directors, presidents, CFOs, managers and other members, 90% said automation and AI with human oversight would be moderately or extremely effective at improving financial performance, according to an HFMA report. (healthcarefinancenews.com) ### Why are denials getting so much attention? Healthcare Finance News reported last month that payer denials and prior-authorization delays remain the top revenue-cycle concerns for providers. In that report, 78% of providers surveyed said they were looking to AI and automation to streamline revenue-cycle processes and offset denials. (hfma.org) Susan Morse of Healthcare Finance News also reported in 2024 that hospitals were increasingly turning to AI to improve revenue-cycle management and that executives expected the technology to become widespread in the function within five years. That earlier coverage described claims processing, reimbursement and denial management as focal points for deployment. (healthcarefinancenews.com) ### How much room is left for adoption? Eighty-five percent of respondents not yet using generative AI said they were interested or very interested in adoption, according to the PayZen findings published May 15. That figure suggests the current 37% adoption rate could rise if pilots in revenue-cycle functions move into broader deployment. (healthcarefinancenews.com) A December 2025 Healthcare Finance News report on a separate HFMA and AKASA survey said revenue-cycle managers were optimistic about generative AI’s potential, but many health systems were still in the early stages of adoption. Another 2026 industry report cited by Revecore said 27% of respondents were deploying AI at scale across multiple revenue-cycle functions while 53% were still running pilots in select areas. (healthcarefinancenews.com) ### What comes next for providers watching this market? PayZen said its 2026 provider-affordability report tracks how hospitals and health systems are responding to financial pressure, patient payment balances and revenue-cycle strain. Healthcare Finance News said the report was published on May 15, and the company’s release said the findings were drawn from more than 200 revenue leaders nationwide. (healthcarefinancenews.com) HIMSS conference materials already list a 2026 session on agentic and generative AI in healthcare revenue-cycle management, with healthcare leaders scheduled to discuss current deployments and operating results. That session, together with additional HFMA and vendor survey work, will provide the next public checkpoints on whether denial management remains the first large-scale use case. (app.himssconference.com) (healthcarefinancenews.com)