Ranking plans face legal scrutiny

 Late last month, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that his office had reached an agreement with Cigna HealthCare on major revisions to its physician-ranking programs in the Empire State, and beyond. Under the new pact, Cigna promises, among other things, to broaden its ranking criteria beyond cost, use generally accepted national standards to measure quality, disclose program design elements to consumers and physicians, and hire an independent watchdog (subject to AG approval) to monitor its compliance.

The agreement grows out of Cuomo’s industry-wide investigation of physician-ranking programs. In separate letters to six plans, Cuomo and his staff raised a laundry list of concerns. continues…

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