AI in Health Financing: Insights from the UHC Webinar – Documentation and Recording Available Soon

As the world strives to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), countries face mounting challenges in allocating limited resources to build equitable and resilient health systems. The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with political conflicts, food insecurity, and climate change, have further strained progress. According to WHO’s latest UHC Monitoring Report “about 2 billion people are facing financial hardship, including 1 billion experiencing catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending.” In response, digital transformation is being pushed forward, and Digital Public Goods and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are emerging as powerful tools to optimize health financing, reduce inefficiencies, and improve service delivery.

To explore these opportunities, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with Amref Health Africa and GIZ hosted a UHC Day webinar on December 10, 2025, titled "AI in Health Financing: Strengthening Systems for Universal Coverage." The event brought together policymakers, health financing experts, and technology leaders to share real-world experiences and discuss how AI can transform health insurance processes.

The webinar was held to coincide with the UHC Day campaign 2025, looking especially at health financing, and building on a series of Learning Exchanges collaboratively conducted by Amref Health Africa, GIZ and ADB throughout 2025.

The main objectives for the webinar were to: 

• Present key learning exchange outcomes from DMCs to a broader audience.
• Discuss the key preconditions and priority areas for using AI in health financing business processes.
• Explore opportunities to incorporate AI-based solutions into social health insurance and national health financing schemes.

Highlights included a keynote address by the AI specialist, Simona Dobre and three country presentations on status quo, implementation plans and progress on AI in Health Insurance from Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Country Presenters:

• Mircea Buga, Chief Specialist, Dept. Budget Formation & Execution, State Health Insurance Fund, Uzbekistan
• Touseef Iqbal, Manager and Muhammad Ashar, Divisional Head, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan
• Arrel Pascual/Kristine Ara Renolayan, Office of the President, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)

In a panel discussion facilitated by Rahul Kadarpeta, Executive Director JLN, Health System Strengthening, Amref Health Africa, the following questions were reflected on: What key enablers and preconditions are essential for AI adoption in health financing systems? How can countries collaborate regionally to accelerate AI integration and share best practices? And: What governance and ethical challenges should be anticipated, and how can they be mitigated?

Panelists:

• Seolhee Chung, Director General, International Cooperation Department, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), Republic of Korea
• Saurav Bhattarai, Team Lead at openIMIS, Global Alliances for Social Protection openIMIS, GIZ
• Mohammed Golam Rafi, Medical Officer, Health Economics Unit, MOHFW, Bangladesh
• Eduardo Banzon, Director, Human and Social Development Sector Office, Sectors Department 3, ADB

For those who were unable to attend, a comprehensive summary, presentation slides, and a full recording of the webinar will be made available in early 2026. Among others, the discussion also highlighted the upcoming e-learning course on AI in Health Insurance, set to launch in January 2026, which will provide practitioners and policymakers with the knowledge to implement AI responsibly and effectively.

These resources will offer valuable insights into how AI can support fairer, more efficient health financing – a critical step toward achieving UHC for all. Stay tuned for updates on how to access the materials and join the ongoing dialogue on AI’s role in shaping the future of health systems.

Please check out the ADB event page on the webinar including the link to the recording.

Further reading:
•    AI for Health Insurance: Learning Exchange and e-Learning Course (Dec 2025)
•    openIMIS AI Claims Adjudication 
•    Wiki resource page on the Learning Exchange with collection of country case studies for 13 countries represented in the Learning Exchanges (available from Feb 2026)
•    Unlocking the potential of AI for social health insurance (Aug 2025)

Access to e-Learning course AI in Health Insurance:
•    Weblink to e-Learning course on Jibu platform by Amref Health Africa