WellPoint to contribute to independent database

Looks like Cigna won't be the only healthcare company ponying up money [1] to create a new, independent research database; New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that WellPoint has also agreed to contribute $10 million toward the cause.

According to WellPoint Executive Vice President Ken Goulet, the company "supports" efforts to "increase the transparency" involved with healthcare costs. WellPoint joins Cigna, which also is paying $10 million; UnitedHealth Group, which is contributing $50 million; and Aetna, which is paying $20 million, in an effort to "establish a more reliable" replacement for the discontinued Ingenix products.

The new database is being created because of Cuomo's findings that the insurance industry had been underpaying for out-of-network services provided; reimbursements to patients had been based on the flawed data products of Ingenix.

For more:
- here's the Modern Healthcare article [2]