UnitedHealthcare to delay quality program in New York and two other states

UnitedHealth Group Inc. unit will delay the implementation of a program to rank doctors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, after state officials threatened to go to court to stop the effort. UHC has indicated that they are delaying the launch of the program, which ranks doctors on cost and quality, until the fourth quarter of 2007 to give physicians more time to become familiar with the “Premium Designation” program. The New York Attorney General sent a letter to UHC asking that it cease implementation of the program, which was scheduled for the end of this month. The attorney general’s office expressed concern that consumers may be steered to doctors based on “faulty data and criteria” and may be encouraged to choose doctors based on price rather than quality. In addition, the AG’s office stated that the insurer’s profit motive may affect the accuracy of its quality rankings because high-quality doctors may be more expensive, which would be a conflict of interest. The AMCNO plan to watch how this matter unfolds in the future.