LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Thursday warned health insurers Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. that their physician ranking programs, as currently designed, are likely to confuse or even deceive consumers.

In letters to the two insurers, Cuomo took issue with Aetna Aexcel and Cigna Care Network programs that encourage members to use specialists who the insurers have identified as demonstrating effectiveness in quality clinical performance and cost efficiency.

Cuomo said the insurers failed to disclose the data used to rank the doctors and said he is concerned that consumers may be steered to physicians based on faulty and incomplete data and criteria.

"Consumers may be encouraged to choose doctors because they are cheap rather than because they good," Cuomo said.

Cuomo’s office in July sent a similar letter to UnitedHealthcare.