Cuomo Raises $20 Million For Physician Rate Database

Dr. Jeffrey Kang, chief medical officer at CIGNA, and Kenneth Goulet, an executive vice president at WellPoint, said their companies now agree with assertions that use of the Ingenix pricing data involves inherent conflicts of interest.

“CIGNA commends the attorney general’s efforts to bring greater transparency to the pricing of health care services and we are pleased to partner in the creation of an independent not-for-profit organization to administer the new database,” Kang says.

“WellPoint is committed to appropriately processing claims and fairly reimbursing healthcare providers for covered services under the terms of each member’s contract, while at the same time protecting our members and group customers against excessive charges by some non-participating providers,” Goulet says in a statement of his own. “WellPoint acknowledges the conflicts of interest in the Ingenix database which the attorney general’s investigation brought to light, and we support his efforts to increase the transparency of health care costs.”