Dismissal of suit against Blue Shield of California

Alameda County Su­per­i­or Court Judge Steven A. Brick has dis­missed a law­suit filed last year by the Cali­for­nia Med­ic­al Assn. against Blue Shield of Cali­for­nia, al­leging that the health in­surer’s new on­line doc­tor-rat­ing sys­tem is in­ac­cur­ate and mis­leads con­sumers. Blue Shield’s Blue Rib­bon Re­cog­ni­tion Pro­gram, launched in June, ana­lyzed about 6,000 doc­tors statewide and pos­ted blue rib­bons on its web­site next to the names of those who met na­tion­al stand­ards for qual­ity care. In a rul­ing re­leased Fri­day, Brick dis­missed the suit’s claims and agreed with Blue Shield’s at­tor­ney’s as­ser­tions that the pro­gram was a form of pro­tec­ted speech.