STAT+: Blue Cross plans to target doctors for overcharging. Physicians are furious
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With the help of a computer algorithm, the state\u2019s biggest health insurer says it will scrutinize doctors who frequently bill it for the most expensive patient visits. It will then unilaterally cut payments to physicians it concludes charged too much.<\/p>\n
Targeting what it described as a small percentage of \u201coutliers,\u201d\u00a0Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts\u00a0<\/a>plans to roll out the new program around Nov. 3. The insurer says\u00a0health care costs are increasing\u00a0<\/a>at their fastest rate in more than 20 years and that it has a duty to help control them for its 3 million members.<\/p>\n But the move has angered some doctors, particularly those who often\u00a0see older, medically complicated patients<\/a>\u00a0in need of more care and time. They say Blue Cross\u2019s initiative fails to recognize a simple fact of medicine: Patients and treatments don\u2019t fit neatly into categories used by insurers and software developers.<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n