# Washington’s Medicaid program will pay for ElliQ, an AI robot for loneliness - Date: 2026-03-19 - Category: Robotics Washington just made history: the state will now pay for an AI robot companion under Medicaid — the first such statewide coverage in the country, according to Intuition Robotics. The state Department of Social and Health Services announced Tuesday that ElliQ, an AI-powered social robot developed... ---