Cigna Settles N.Y. Probe of Its Doctor-Ranking Plan

Oct 29, 04:21 PM

Current Headlines: By The Philadelphia Inquirer

Oct. 29--Cigna Corp., the Philadelphia health insurer, has agreed to disclose to consumers and doctors how it ranks physicians, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said today.

Cuomo's office has been investigating health insurers suspected of directing patients to cheaper doctors. He said the agreement would create "greater transparency and accountability" in measuring doctor performance and would encourage other insurers to adopt this model.

Cigna will improve the ranking program to make sure doctors are not graded solely on cost. The company also will use national standards to measure quality of care and "foster more accurate physician comparisons," Cuomo said in a prepared statement.

The company will hire a monitor to oversee compliance with the settlement and to report to the attorney general every six months.

Doctor-ranking programs are rapidly growing in the healthcare industry, with Cigna's operating in 28 states, Cuomo said.

Cigna's chief medical officer, Dr. Jeffrey King, called the agreement a national model and also said the company would contribute $100,000 to an independent organization to communicate all aspects of the ranking system to consumers.

Cigna in the first six months of this year had a profit of $487 million on revenue of $8.8 billion.

shares were up $1.41, or 2.7 percent, to $53.48 in noon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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