AMA sues Aetna, Cigna

The American Medical Assn. is joining several state medical associations in suing health insurers Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. over a database they say was rigged to underpay doctors on out-of-network claims for more than a decade.

But Cigna said doctors’ rates were part of the problem.

The lawsuits heap more criticism on Ingenix Inc. data that already have cost UnitedHealth Group Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn., $350 million to settle a separate lawsuit involving the AMA.

Ingenix, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, also has drawn the ire of New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo, who said last month that poor reimbursement rates by insurers because of Ingenix data had led to higher medical bills for consumers.