AG ends probe into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas physician rating program

The Texas Attorney General's office announced it ended a probe into a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas' physician rating program and reached an agreement with the insurer to stop ranking physicians using claims data. Attorney General Gregg Abbott also resolved an investigation into Blue Cross' handling of out-of-network referrals. According to state investigators, Blue Cross had threatened to terminate physicians solely on the basis of referring patients to qualified specialists that were outside the Blue Cross provider network.