diff --git a/src/pipelines/clients/bcbs_promise/prompts/prompt_calls.py b/src/pipelines/clients/bcbs_promise/prompts/prompt_calls.py
index 9ebeaa8..41f636d 100644
--- a/src/pipelines/clients/bcbs_promise/prompts/prompt_calls.py
+++ b/src/pipelines/clients/bcbs_promise/prompts/prompt_calls.py
@@ -50,4 +50,4 @@ def validate_reimbursements_for_llm(answer_dict: dict[str, str], filename: str)
         f"LLM response for reimbursement validation in {filename}:\n{llm_response}"
     )
     final_answer = _parser(llm_response)
-    return final_answer == "YES"
+    return "YES" in final_answer
diff --git a/src/pipelines/clients/clover/prompts/prompt_calls.py b/src/pipelines/clients/clover/prompts/prompt_calls.py
index 77a7f3c..5813b4a 100644
--- a/src/pipelines/clients/clover/prompts/prompt_calls.py
+++ b/src/pipelines/clients/clover/prompts/prompt_calls.py
@@ -49,5 +49,5 @@ def validate_reimbursements_for_llm(answer_dict: dict[str, str], filename: str)
     logging.debug(
         f"LLM response for reimbursement validation in {filename}:\n{llm_response}"
     )
-    final_answer = _parser(llm_response).strip().upper()
-    return final_answer == "YES"
+    final_answer = _parser(llm_response)
+    return "YES" in final_answer