US Healthcare Providers, Payers Boost AI Investments to Drive Profitability: Bain & KLAS Study

US healthcare providers and payers are ramping up the AI investments most likely to improve profit margins as they focus on an imperative of harnessing tech to bolster returns, a new study from Bain & Company and KLAS Research reveals.

The prioritization of technology solutions that deliver greatest impact to bottom lines comes as the healthcare sector's deployment of AI moves from a previous phase of broad exploration to focused execution to capture financial benefits, Bain and KLAS report in their 2025 Healthcare IT Spending study. 70% of providers and 80% of payers now have an AI strategy in place or in development – significantly up from 60% for both groups in last year's Bain/KLAS survey.  

The 2025 Bain/KLAS survey of some 228 US healthcare provider and payer executives finds that revenue cycle management (RCM) and clinical workflow are providers' key priorities while payers emphasize utilization and network management. Providers remain capacity-constrained, prioritizing solutions with demonstrable return on investment (ROI). Payers face higher medical loss ratios, utilization rates, and risk-adjustment scrutiny while they brace for enrollment pressures. 

"Healthcare AI is moving out of the pilot stage and being leveraged to meet profitability needs of both providers and payers," said Aaron Feinberg, partner in Bain & Company's Healthcare & Life Sciences and Private Equity practice. "Executives want quickly scalable solutions that address key business challenges and pay for themselves with tangible results and short time-to-value windows. This is all about the bottom line now."

"AI in healthcare is here to stay, and providers and payers are wisely moving from exploration to execution," said Adam Gale, CEO of KLAS Research. "While results are encouraging, it will take time to fully understand the financial impact. What's clear is the strong intent to scale thoughtfully—focusing on use cases that improve experiences for patients, members, and clinicians."