3 insurers adopt ranking systems

Three large medical insurance providers have decided to adopt a New York model for ranking doctors.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and EmblemHealth Inc.'s Group Health Inc. and Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York subsidiaries agreed to implement ranking programs based on the principles established by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo.

The agreements came after Cuomo's office began to investigate claims that insurers used ratings to send patients to doctors whose fees were lower rather than to the best doctors. The other companies that have adopted the model are WellPoint Inc., Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc.