Suit Over Doctors Rankings Gets Green Light

The Suffolk Superior Court has ruled that a suit over how the state's health insurance ranks its doctors can 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, we are not afraid to have people look at how we do things," says Auerbach. "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.