Connecticut's Fairfield County Medical Association has filed a class-action lawsuit in Danbury Superior Court against three health insurers alleging that the companies' physician designation programs damage non-designated physicians' reputations and steer patients to certain specialists regardless of the quality of care provided, the AP/Connecticut Post reports. The lawsuit names Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and Oxford Heath, which recently was acquired by UnitedHealth.

The suit contends that the program implements a tiered network under which physicians in certain specialties -- including endocrinology, dermatology, obstetrics and others -- are designated as "elite," and patients are charged reduced copayments for choosing those doctors. Claudia Gruss, chair of the FCMA board of trustees, asserts that the insurers base physician designations on insurance claims data, not on evaluations of patient care.

UnitedHealth and Oxford have not yet implemented the program, according to the association. Burton Rubin, FCMA president, said the lawsuit seeks to prevent the companies from establishing it. The suit also is seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages.

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"What we're saying is that the tiered network is being touted as promoting doctors who somehow provide superior care. It's a matter of economic credentialing and not improving care," Gruss said. Jeffrey Carton, an attorney representing FCMA in the lawsuit, said that the companies should be required to explain why they designate certain doctors and exclude others.

Wendell Potter, a spokesperson for Cigna, would not comment on the lawsuit but said the company uses standardized performance measures based on "what we believe to be the best data available." He added, "We recognize that the quality and cost efficiency measures we use represent only a partial assessment of a provider's quality and cost efficiency, and we advise members that these evaluations should not be the sole basis for decision-making." UnitedHealth spokesperson Tyler Mason said the lawsuit is "without merit" (Singer, AP/Connecticut Post, 8/14).