Texas doctors fight back in MD ratings dispute

Concerned about several health insurers' decision to rate and rank physicians, a Texas medical group has decided to fire back with ratings on insurers. The Harris County Medical Society, working with the University of Houston-Clear Lake, is conducting a survey of physicians to gather their opinions on several insurance companies working in the state. The study only applies to small practices in which the physician or staff deal directly with insurers.

Health plans targeted by the study, which include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA, Humana, Unicare Health Plans and United Healthcare, have all begun using their own physician-rating systems. The Society's leaders say that while they meet with health plans, they're generally not in the loop when it comes to overall performance of the health plans, nor on processes that are working or not working for physicians. They say that their goal is to recognize good performance and find issues that health plans should address, particularly questionable reimbursement practices.

To find out more about the survey:
- read this Houston Business Journal piece

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