Suit Against Mass. Insurance Plan Can Proceed

By Abigail Beshkin (WBUR)

A Suffolk Superior Court ruling on Thursday says a suit over how the state's health insurance ranks its doctors may go forward.

The health insurance system for state workers divides doctors into three tiers. Patients who receive care from higher-ranked doctors pay lower co-pays.

But the Massachusetts Medical Society accuses the state's Group Insurance Commission of using arbitrary measures to grade the doctors.

Massachusetts Medical Society's Bruce Auerbach says among other things, the GIC often grades doctors on procedures they don't do.

"We are not afraid to be measured," Auerbach says. "We are not afraid to have people looks at how we do things. We just want it done right."

The GIC calls its system a fair way to control costs, and says it developed the ranking system with doctors' input.