MedChi protests CareFirst rate cuts

CareFirst is "crushing the economic life out of medical practice," says one angry critic. In Maryland, tempers flared after CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced reimbursement cuts. The Maryland State Medical Society--known in the state as MedChi--is protesting and calling on attorney general Mike Joseph Currant to investigate how CareFirst and UnitedHealth set prices. A CareFirst spokesman responds, "set fee schedules for our providers that are fair, reasonable and competitive." Not so, says MedChi. "These giant health plans are acting like the giant 800-pound gorillas they are" comments society president Dr. George Bone.

- read this article from the Baltimore Business Journal