Google told employees who want health benefits that they must allow a third-party AI healthcare tool to access their data, a move that has rankled some staff members.
If they decline it, they will not receive health coverage.
The company announced this month that US-based employees who wish to sign up for health benefits through its parent company Alphabet in the coming enrollment period must grant access to AI-powered tools provided by Nayya, which offers personalized benefits recommendations, according to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider.
A staffer will not be eligible for any health benefits if they decline to opt into Nayya’s tool, according to guidelines seen by Business Insider. Some staff members have asked leaders why they won’t have access to health benefits if they opt out of giving Nayya access to their data, internal communications show.
Nayya’s tool allows employees to input information about their health and lifestyle, and provides recommendations on benefits to choose.
“Nayya provides core health plan operating services to optimize your benefits usage, so Alphabet health plan participants can’t entirely opt out of third-party data sharing (as permitted under HIPAA),” reads an internal resource page for employees.
“To opt out of health supplier data sharing going forward, unenroll from the Alphabet-provided benefits during Open Enrollment or when you experience a qualified Family Status Change,” it continued.
Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini told Business Insider that Nayya only has access to “standard” data about employees, such as demographic information, if they choose to opt in. From there, staffers can choose to make use of the tool and give it more data, or ignore it, she said.
“This voluntary tool, which passed our internal security and privacy reviews, was added to help our employees better navigate our extensive healthcare benefit options,” Mencini told Business Insider. “Employees must opt-in to use the tool and share their own health information, as Google does not have access to it.”
Employees posted messages on an internal Q&A site, asking why they must give potentially sensitive medical data to an outside tool if they want to receive medical coverage.
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“Why are we providing our medical claims to a third-party AI tool without a way to opt out?” read one of the questions submitted, which was viewed by Business Insider.
“This is a very dark pattern,” read another post. “I cannot meaningfully consent to my data being shared with this company, and I do not want to consent in this manner.”
Some employees also posted their concerns on Memegen, Google’s internal message board. One post read: “Consent for an optional feature like ‘benefits usage optimization’ is not meaningful if it’s coupled to a must-have feature like Google’s HEALTH PLANS! The word you’re thinking of is ‘coercive.'”
A Nayya spokesperson said its tool allows employees who choose to participate to see how much of their deductible has been met and receive personalized plan recommendations. They also said that Google conducted a standard security and privacy review of Nayya’s product.
“Nayya is required to protect health data maintained in accordance with HIPAA,” read an internal Google FAQ page about Nayya, which added that Nayya “will not share, rent, sell, or otherwise disclose” personally identifiable information it collects.
Companies from Meta to Microsoft are increasingly incorporating AI tools into their workplaces. Google is pushing AI usage to increase employee productivity as well. Like Google, some companies, such as Salesforce and Walmart, have also rolled out AI-powered health benefits tools, like Included Health, to their workforces.
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