RFK Jr Says Sam Altman Called It 'Malpractice' for Doctors to Diagnose or Prescribe Without Checking AI

Robert F. Kennedy Jr told a Washington audience that the head of OpenAI had privately given him a striking verdict on artificial intelligence in medicine: that doctors who skip it are now committing malpractice.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy made the claim on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, in a fireside chat with Vice President JD Vance that closed the Make America Healthy Again Summit at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington.

Kennedy said OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman had told him during a meeting that week that it would be malpractice to make a diagnosis or issue a prescription without checking with AI. The words attributed to Altman come from Kennedy's account rather than from Altman directly, and the remarks came as the secretary argued that AI could free Americans from what he called medical tyranny.

A Change of Heart, as Kennedy Tells It

Kennedy presented it as a shift in Altman's thinking. According to his account, as reported by The Hill, Altman said that two years ago he would not have advised anybody to take medical advice alone from AI, but that today it would be malpractice for a doctor to make a diagnosis or a prescription without at least checking AI.

The wording varies between accounts of the event. Another report of his remarks quoted Kennedy as saying Altman had described it as malpractice for a doctor not to consult such tools at all, a broader formulation than a check before diagnosis or prescription. Neither version comes from Altman directly.

Kennedy went further on his own account. A patient's medical record could run to a thousand pages, he said, more than a doctor could review in a short appointment, while AI could distil it and give a second opinion much better informed than any doctor in the country, the Washington Examiner reported.

He told the audience that by the time the administration leaves office, every American will have access to their medical records on their phones.

Masks, Distancing and a Grandmother's Vaccine

Kennedy used the technology to challenge public health advice he has previously disputed. 'If somebody tells you, "Masks work, trust the experts," AI may tell you otherwise. If somebody tells you, "Social distancing works, trust the experts," AI may correct that,' he said.

He applied the same argument to vaccines. If someone says a vaccine will prevent transmission and infection, or that you need it to protect your grandmother, AI may say it does not do that, he argued, adding that the technology has the capacity to free us from medical tyranny. Forbes described him as a prominent vaccine sceptic who had once again railed against public health experts and pandemic-era strategies.

Kennedy said Americans would never again be dominated by public officials who tell them to trust the experts, the New York Sun reported, presenting AI as a way for Americans to challenge public health advice and restrictions associated with the pandemic.

An OpenAI Executive Made the Same Case Earlier at the Summit

Kennedy was not the only speaker to use the word. Earlier at the summit, Felipe Millon, who heads OpenAI's government go-to-market division, told attendees that it is medical malpractice not to get a second opinion from AI today, describing the models as so good, the Washington Examiner reported.

Millon also said AI should complement rather than replace human medical care, and that he would not advise anyone to undergo a major procedure simply because a chatbot recommended it.

His remark shows the idea was being voiced publicly by OpenAI at the event. It does not establish what Altman said to Kennedy in private.

Vance offered an anecdote of his own. He said he had spoken that morning, at an AI lunch, to a man who told him he had used artificial intelligence to develop a treatment approach for his wife, who was undergoing cancer treatment, after doctors had said little could help her.

The man, whom Vance did not name, obtained his doctor's approval for the drug combination, and Vance said his wife was alive when he had not expected her to be. The account has not been independently verified.

Not every official struck the same tone. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, argued the healthcare system was hurting people by not using AI more fully, while adding: 'Yes, I know it can destroy humanity,' according to The Hill.

The summit coincided with a wider administration push. On the same day, President Donald Trump hosted technology executives at the White House, where they signed a voluntary AI safety pact, Reuters reported, while Vance attended an AI-themed lunch. The summit itself featured tech executives alongside figures including the comedian Russell Brand and the boxer Mike Tyson.

The words attributed to Altman remain Kennedy's account of a private conversation.