Cedar, a patient finance platform for healthcare providers, announced Monday that its artificial intelligence voice agent has handled approximately 400,000 patient calls at healthcare providers nationwide since its launch last year.
The platform debuted an AI voice agent (called Kora) in April 2025. The tool is available 24/7 to autonomously resolve common claims inquiries on the first interaction and is trained on Cedar’s proprietary medical claims data.
Voice AI agents handle tasks such as patient authentication, bill collection, balance inquiries, bill clarification, and outbound collection campaigns.
Since its launch, more than a dozen providers have implemented the solution, including Hartford HealthCare, Keck Medicine of USC, ApolloMD, Emerus, and Gastro Health.
At ApolloMD, the platform has contributed to a 42% increase in patient payments and a “measurable reduction” in agent workload, the company says.
Gastro Health, one of the largest gastroenterology practices in the United States, incorporated Kora in September. The AI voice agent handled over 60,000 calls, and the system reported a 24% reduction in live agent handle time and a 22% reduction in call center staffing.
Additionally, more than 80% of the clinic’s patients who used the solution presented in the post-call survey reported being “very satisfied” with Kora.
Lawrence Freni, Gastro Health’s chief financial officer, told Fierce Healthcare in an emailed statement that his team was “stretched over the edge” to balance responsiveness and high call volumes.
“The numbers speak for themselves, with processing times down 24%, staffing needs down 22%, and patient satisfaction rates exceeding those achieved by live agent teams,” said Freni. “What you don’t see in the metrics is the pressure that employees are under. Employees are spending less time on repeat calls and more time on interactions that require a real human being. That balance is important for staff retention, patient relationships, and building something that’s scalable.”
When we started, our goal was to automate 30% of incoming billing calls. The company now says its goal is to expand by targeting areas such as outbound patient engagement and agent workflow automation.
Florian Otto, Cedar CEO and co-founder, told Fierce Healthcare that “patient trust is being lost” in the face of medical billing, with bills arriving late, not matching expectations, and questions left unanswered.
“That’s the problem Kora was created for: not to deflect calls, but to handle calls that truly need explanation and resolution,” Otto said. “After 400,000 calls, the data shows it’s working. But what it represents is more important than volume. Through these interactions, we’re seeing patients resolve complex billing questions like EOB discrepancies and collection inquiries without ever contacting a live agent, and with satisfaction scores that exceed real agent benchmarks.”
