THU AM News: Survey finds cybersecurity investments on the rise amid AI growth; Aging coalition touting study on ‘copay accumulator’ bans

November 12, 2026

— Cybersecurity investments are on the rise worldwide as companies navigate the uncertain waters of AI adoption, according to a recent survey of senior tech leaders by Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup.

The company this week rolled out its “Scaling AI Securely” report through its Experis brand, which found 78% of the tech leaders it surveyed through a third-party firm say they’re upping cybersecurity spending.

And while AI and machine learning were among the most important technical skills identified by respondents at 37%, that was exceeded by cybersecurity at 46%, reflecting the growing importance companies are placing on their threat readiness.

Still, the share of those saying their risk strategy aligns with cybersecurity readiness has fallen from last year’s survey, from 77% to 72% in the latest report. Authors describe AI as the “new enterprise attack surface,” arguing strong cybersecurity should be seen as a necessary condition for broader use of the technology.

As AI becomes more widely integrated within business processes, report authors argue companies need to protect their models, training and retrieval data, as well as the prompts themselves, how AI models are integrated and the surrounding cloud environments.

“A weakness in any one layer can affect the reliability of the entire workflow,” they wrote.

But even as AI creates new openings for hackers, it’s also giving security teams more options to deal with the rising threat, the report notes.

Meanwhile, 66% of respondents said their employers are spending more on AI, but only 9% said the technology is “fully integrated” into strategy and operations and another 19% say they’re scaling it more broadly.

“AI investment is accelerating, but many organizations are still struggling to turn experimentation into measurable business value,” authors wrote.

About a third report “active integration” of AI into some aspects of their business, while another 30% say they’re researching it and running pilots. Just 10% haven’t begun looking into AI integration.

Experis tapped third-party research firm Reputation Leaders LLC to conduct the online survey of 1,930 senior leaders in technology roles across 12 countries between Jan. 28 and March 4. The pool of respondents included chief information offices, chief technology officers and others overseeing IT budgets and hiring.

See the release and report.

— The Coalition of Wisconsin Aging & Health Groups is spotlighting new research showing states with “copay accumulator” bans had lower average premium growth than those without them.

The group yesterday issued a release with details from a study published last month in Health Affairs Scholar, assessing the impact of such policies on health insurance premiums. Members are urging lawmakers in the state to “build on historic bipartisan support for patient protections.”

Copay accumulator adjustment programs allow insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to exclude financial assistance from counting toward a patient’s annual deductible or out-of-pocket limits.

An overview from the health research organization KFF notes that when a manufacturer copay coupon is exhausted, the enrollee is “suddenly subject to their deductible and then a copayment and/or coinsurance, which can be substantial” for certain drugs.

The study, which was backed by the National Pharmaceutical Council, found no substantial evidence that state-level bans on these programs led to higher premiums.

Meanwhile, the study found average premium growth was held to 20.8% over a four-year period in states with copay accumulator protections, compared to 24.2% for states without such policies in place. That’s based on 2020-2024 data across small- and large-group commercial health insurance markets.

Rob Gundermann, the group’s president and CEO, says these findings “address one of the primary concerns raised” during previous legislative discussions and strengthens the case for advancing patient protections.

“Lawmakers from both parties have recognized that patients should receive the full benefit of financial assistance intended to help them afford their medications,” he said in a statement.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— UW Health has begun offering a new targeted radiation therapy option for brain tumors that involves placing radioactive “seeds” within the body.

The health system this week announced it started providing the GammaTile therapy last month, becoming one of the first in the state to offer this option for cancer patients. It’s made by Arizona-based GT Medical Technologies, and has been approved by the FDA for patients with certain forms of brain cancer.

When a patient’s brain tumor is removed, the GammaTile collagen pads containing radioactive cesium-131 are placed within the surgical area, delivering radiation over the following weeks to address remaining tumor cells. As an alternative to the traditional externally delivered radiation therapy, the treatment is designed to deliver a precise dose of radiation while sparing healthy surrounding tissue.

Dr. Azam Ahmed, a neurosurgeon with UW Health, says many patients treated in this way don’t need separate doses of radiation later on.

“Treatment starts as soon as we remove the tumor and place the tiles in the surgical cavity,” he said. “We remove as much of the tumor as we safely can, and the tiles immediately begin treating any microscopic tumor cells left behind.”

See more in a recent scientific study on GammaTile.

— Modine says it has started producing data center cooling machines at its new facility in Texas, part of a domestic manufacturing expansion aimed at meeting rising demand.

The Racine-based company yesterday announced the start of commercial production for its Airedale chillers at its 682,000-square-foot facility.

It’s planned to be Modine’s largest production site for these cooling installations, as the company is targeting four operational lines there for its 2MW units by the end of the fiscal year. While currently running one shift, plans include scaling that up to a three-shift model as production ramps up.

President and CEO Neil Brinker calls the move an important milestone in its roadmap for expanding U.S. production.

“Scaling our capacity close to our customers enables us to partner with them to deliver the right highly engineered cooling solutions to help them advance their progress and achieve their performance objectives,” Brinker said in the announcement.

See the release.

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