R1, a large revenue-cycle management company, is acquiring Humata Health, a startup that uses AI to handle insurance prior authorizations — the approvals providers must secure before many treatments, and one of the most-cited pain points in US healthcare.
Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. Founded in 2023 by a Mayo Clinic-trained physician, Humata identifies insurer policies, builds authorization requests and shepherds them through approval — reporting a 96% first-pass approval rate.
Why R1 wants it
R1 processes more than 600 million transactions a year across about 1,000 providers, and prior authorization is a natural extension of its claims-automation business. “Humata significantly enhances our coverage of the authorization process,” said R1 CEO Joe Flanagan.
Why it matters
Prior authorization is a persistent burden: patients rank it among the biggest obstacles to care, and providers cite added paperwork and treatment delays, while insurers defend it as a cost control. Regulation is tightening — a 2024 CMS rule mandates faster, electronic decisions, and insurers made voluntary commitments to deliver real-time responses for 80% of electronic prior-authorization approvals in 2026 — making AI automation an increasingly hot corner of health tech.