The Ratings Race Heats Up

Recently, we looked at Wellpoint's new provider survey courtesy of the folks at Zagat. While imperfect at best, it represents a move in the right direction, i.e. provider transparency.

Now the folks at Cigna, in cooperation with NY AG Andrew Cuomo, have one-upped the WP effort:

"Cigna agreed to make public how it ranks doctors, won't evaluate its physicians on cost alone and will allow an independent national standard-setting organization to review its efforts every six months."

And this won't be based on office decor or smiles-per-member, either. The rankings will take into account more critical metrics: cost and quality will figure more prominently in these measurements.

Bravo, Cigna!