Cotiviti and MedCity News Index Finds Healthcare AI Adoption is Outpacing Governance and Cybersecurity Preparedness

SALT LAKE CITY & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2026--

Cotiviti, The Healthcare Infrastructure Company™, and MedCity News, the leading online news source for the business of innovation in healthcare, today announced the results of their 2026 Healthcare AI Readiness Index (the Index ), which found that healthcare organizations are adopting AI faster than they’re building the governance and cybersecurity frameworks needed to use it safely.

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Conducted in summer 2026, the Index tapped into the perspectives of payer and provider organizations to assess AI adoption, governance and cybersecurity preparedness and better understand how healthcare leaders are balancing AI's potential with the operational, regulatory and security challenges accompanying its deployment.

The Index found that more than 70% of respondents have begun using AI tools, with nearly 40% of health insurers describing AI as a core aspect of their business. Providers are earlier in the process, with more than 70% still in the early stages of adoption.

At the same time, the findings reveal a significant readiness gap. Just 42% of payers and 32% of providers say they are "very prepared" to respond to AI-assisted cyberattacks. Sixty percent of payers and 64% of providers report employees are using unauthorized or non-integrated "shadow AI" tools, while fewer than 40% have detailed policies governing employee use of AI.

“AI is quickly becoming part of the infrastructure of healthcare, but the security and governance around it have to advance just as quickly,” said Ric Sinclair, CEO of Cotiviti. “And that responsibility increasingly extends beyond an organization's own four walls. As health plans and healthcare organizations rely on AI across more critical workflows, they need confidence that the technology and partners throughout their ecosystems meet the same high standards for security, governance and responsible use. Trust will be foundational to realizing AI's full potential in healthcare.”

“From a security standpoint, we treat every AI tool and workflow with the same rigor we apply to any other critical system,” said Sean Warren, Chief Information Officer of Cotiviti. “That means vetting AI vendors and models, monitoring for emerging threats and establishing clear policies for how AI can be used across the organization. As adoption accelerates, that discipline is what allows organizations to adopt AI with confidence and scale its use responsibly.”

The findings come as healthcare organizations prepare to increase spending significantly. Ninety percent of respondents expect their investment in AI and cybersecurity to grow over the next year, even as regulatory requirements and data security concerns remain leading barriers to adoption.

Despite those concerns, respondents are already reporting meaningful benefits from AI, including faster claims processing, reduced administrative burden, improved workflow efficiency, better member and patient experiences, and faster access to insights from healthcare data.

“The findings reveal a significant gap between AI adoption and AI governance,” said Ken Montgomery, publisher of MedCity News. “Healthcare organizations clearly recognize AI's potential and are investing accordingly, but many are still building the governance and security frameworks needed to deploy it responsibly. As AI becomes more deeply integrated across healthcare, closing that gap will be increasingly important.”

Taken together, the Index suggests healthcare’s next phase of AI adoption will be defined not by which organizations deploy AI, but by how effectively they govern, secure and operationalize it.

Read the full Index for additional findings and analysis.

About MedCity News

MedCity News is the leading online news source for the business of innovation in healthcare. MedCity delivers insight into what’s next and what matters, with a mix of breaking news and analysis on startups and established industry leaders, personalities, policies and the most important deals.

Healthcare leaders must stay on top of new technologies, new companies, future trends and the latest policies, with a perspective that includes the entire healthcare ecosystem: health IT and digital health, diagnostics and medical devices, biopharma and emerging tech be it from the Silicon Valley entrants like Apple or Google or e-commerce giants like Amazon or retailers like CVS Health. MedCity News is equally interested in payers and payment reform and the transformation of the industry toward rewarding value.

MedCity News also convenes and hosts conferences around the country homing in on topics that are timely, relevant and exciting. From daily news updates to annual events, MedCity gives readers the chance to speak to and learn from everyone who has a stake in improving healthcare.

About Cotiviti

Cotiviti’s infrastructure platform enables healthcare organizations to deliver better care at lower cost through advanced technology and data analytics that improve the quality and sustainability of healthcare in the United States. Cotiviti’s solutions increase transparency and collaboration between payers and providers while empowering them to reduce medical and administrative costs, enable better health, improve claims payment efficiency, streamline operations, drive interoperability and advance value-based care. Its customers serve the majority of U.S. healthcare consumers, providing coverage and care for over 300 million members and patients. For more information, visit www.cotiviti.com.

The 2026 Healthcare AI Readiness Index found that healthcare organizations are adopting AI faster than they’re building the governance and cybersecurity frameworks needed to use it safely.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have ignited fires at several oil facilities and wounded dozens of people, raising the stakes in renewed fighting between a U.S. ally and an Iranian proxy just days after deadly clashes in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.

Meanwhile, Britain's government said it is banning goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel responded by saying it will close the British consulate in Jerusalem.

Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

A wave of Houthi attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia’s southern region, injuring at least 73 people, officials said.

The attacks early Tuesday marked a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. They follow weeks of intensifying clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country’s civil war.

The flare-up brings further instability to a region scarred by nearly three years of wars, raising fresh concerns for the global economy. It also threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route for oil and global trade that has helped cushion the blow as Iran chokes off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The attacks hit “civilian and economic facilities” in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. Al-Malki said the wounded included women and children.

The Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s southern region, temporarily halting operations.

The U.K. government said it’s banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying an expansion program there is endangering efforts to establish a Palestinian state.

Israel will respond by closing the British consulate in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday. He said Israel will also expel U.K. representatives from a joint military center monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end U.K. training of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said that “settler terrorists” are carrying out “ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. He said the U.K. will ban imports of all goods from the settlements as well as some services.

Miliband said France and Canada will join the U.K. in the ban.

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presided over a surge of settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state.

The international community considers the settlements illegal or illegitimate, and the Palestinians say they are the main barrier to a lasting peace agreement. But Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian statehood last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed additional sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry, targeting three dozen commercial and private airlines and foreign cargo service providers in its new push to isolate Tehran from trading partners.

The new penalties are part of the White House's “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign aimed at severing the Iranian government's financial lifelines. They focus on the remaining facets of Tehran’s aviation industry, which Washington has heavily sanctioned for years.

The U.S. accused 36 entities targeted this week of supporting Iran's efforts to use its aviation sector to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

People walk under a billboard showing Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi with a phrase from the Islamic book Quran that reads in Arabic; "In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate" in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)