Ingenix Target of Attorney Subpoenas

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued 16 subpoenas to insurance companies — including Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Empire BlueCross BlueShield — and plans to file suit against Ingenix Inc., its parent UnitedHealth Group, and three additional subsidiaries, as part of an industry-wide investigation into a scheme to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates.

The Attorney General’s case contends that Ingenix operates a defective and manipulated database that most major health insurance companies use to set reimbursement rates for out-of-network medical expenses. The investigation also found that two subsidiaries of United dramatically underpaid members for out-of-network medical expenses by using data provided by Ingenix.