AI Won’t Fix American Healthcare on Its Own, But It Can Help Us Close the Gap

America spends more than any other country on healthcare, nearly twice the per capita amount of other developed nations. And yet, our outcomes are consistently worse. We face higher maternal mortality rates, lower life expectancy, and alarming disparities in care based on race, geography, and income.

It’s no secret that the system is broken. But what’s often overlooked is the opportunity we now have to do something about it, with the help of artificial intelligence. AI alone won’t fix American healthcare. But when applied responsibly, it can help us improve access, reduce costs, and ultimately, save lives.

A system straining at the seams

Healthcare workers are burned out, administrative costs are ballooning, and patients in rural or low-income communities often wait weeks or months to access basic services. And those with chronic or behavioral health needs, particularly underserved populations, are most at risk of falling through the cracks.

At the same time, we’re seeing a wave of innovation in AI that could radically shift how we deliver care. In 2024 alone, $25 billion was invested globally in health innovation, with more than half of that going toward AI-powered solutions. But unless those tools are built to address real gaps in access, efficiency, and improved patient outcomes, we risk reinforcing the same systemic failures, just with smarter code.

AI’s promise in practice

At Techstars AI Health Baltimore, a new accelerator launched in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, I’ve seen what’s possible when AI is applied with purpose.

Take Embryoxite, a startup developing a non-invasive pre-implantation test that predicts the probability of pregnancy during IVF. Their AI analyzes data from embryo culture media to provide personalized insights, helping patients and providers make better-informed fertility decisions. This could dramatically reduce the financial and emotional burden of fertility care and make it more accessible for families who otherwise couldn’t afford repeated cycles.

Another example is Aidoc, an AI health company that’s not affiliated with our accelerator but is doing transformative work in clinical decision support. Their platform helps radiologists and care teams prioritize critical cases by flagging abnormalities in medical imaging in real time, streamlining workflows, reducing diagnostic delays, and ultimately improving patient outcomes across emergency departments worldwide.

These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re real examples of AI already being deployed to improve health outcomes, reduce waste, and extend care to more people, especially in places where the system has historically failed.

Why access to care must be at the center

AI’s success in healthcare won’t come from building shiny new tools for already well-resourced systems. It will come from embedding innovation into the messy, underfunded, and underserved parts of healthcare and designing with those communities in mind.

That means training models on diverse datasets and validating tools across multiple sources of patient care, like community health centers and large health systems. And it also means ensuring that startups have the mentorship and clinical partnerships they need to build something that actually works, for patients and providers alike.

Baltimore is one of the best examples of what this approach can look like. It’s a city with world-class institutions, real health challenges, and a deep commitment to building equitable solutions. It’s also more affordable, more collaborative, and more grounded in real-life circumstances than many traditional tech hubs.

A smarter way forward

Healthcare will never be “fixed” by technology alone. But we can’t ignore what AI makes possible: faster diagnoses, smarter workflows, better use of limited resources, and more personalized care at scale.

To get there, we need more public-private partnerships. We need investors to back startups solving real problems, not just ones with glossy demos. And we need founders who are as passionate about impact as they are about innovation.

If we get this right, we can build a system that works better for everyone, not just the few who can afford concierge care or live near major medical centers. We can close the gap between what we spend and what we get. And we can move from sick care to smart, proactive healthcare.

AI won’t save us. But it can help us finally deliver on the promise of a system that works for patients, not just profits.

Photo: Dilok Klaisataporn, Getty Images

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