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Looks at Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans in the United States focusing on the measures which some of them have started to adopt in order to become more profitable. Background on Blues plans; Conversion of some plans to a for-profit status; Information on some Blues mergers; Views of various officials on the change in strategies; Effect of the conversion of Blues plans in California and Georgia.

Reports on the privatization of public hospitals in Los Angeles County (LAC), California. Revenues, expenses, loss, budgeted subsidy, surplus or deficit LAC hospitals in fiscal year ended June 30, 1996; Partnership between private and public hospitals; Alternatives to the closure of the LAC-University of Southern California Medical Center.

Focuses on the debate over the quality of care AIDS patients are receiving under managed care. Fear of AIDS activists; Stand of providers that patients are well served; Concern regarding the use of costly drugs; Benefits of managed care for AIDS patients.

Focuses on health providers' negotiation of full-risk contracts in response to the cutting of premiums by health maintenance organizations (HMO) in the United States. Definition of full-risk contracts; Providers' reactions on the care provided by HMOs; Relationship between providers and HMOs in California.

Focuses on four California health maintenance organizations (HMOs) planning to expand to the eastern side of the United States because of California's saturated market. Obstacles of the California HMOs eastward movement; Problems of cultural assim ilation. INSETS: Foundation uses CHAMPUS as building block to expand.;PacifiCare uses Medicare risk to expand to new states.;FHP's acquisition of TakeCare fueled growth.;Giant WellPoint-HSI sets ambitious expansion goals.

Focuses on Portland, Oregon's healthcare market. Health maintenance organizations in the area; Formation of physician groups; Profiles of several health providers in the area.

Focuses on the diversification of preferred provider organizations (PPO) in the United States in order to keep up with health care reform and market changes. Formation of health maintenance organizations (HMO); Lawmakers' lack of knowledge on PPOs; Enrollment-growth of provider-owned PPOs in 1994; Strategies of various PPOs.

Reports on the growth of interest in Medicare risk marketplace among large and small health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the United States. Terms of a risk contract; Anticipation of regulatory changes by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA); Expansion of choices for Medicare beneficiaries; Factors contributing to the success of a Medicare HMO; Effects of the Medicare risk business on hospitals.

Discusses managed care in Alaska. Pressure from employers to reduce healthcare costs in Alaska; Need for the integration of services; Three separate healthcare delivery systems; Benefits of implementing a single-payer system; Compacting to spur system integration and competition. INSET: Looking for a model system? Visit.., by Louise Kertesz..

Features Blue Cross and Blue Shield as the nation's leading health insurance provider. Kaiser Permanente as competitor; Health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollment in providers' regions; Blues' managed-care strategies tailored to local markets; Blues' publicized difficulties; Mission and tradition; Setting up of integrated delivery systems; Alternative ventures.

Focuses on physician-hospital organizations' (PHO) increasing involvement in insurance by accepting more risks and premiums than the insurers and health maintenance organizations with which they contract. Acceptance of capitation payments for managed care services; Equation of managed care with providers taking on risk; Insurance regulators' concern over PHOs' involvement in insurance. INSET: Calif. PHOs getting employers' interest..

Provides information on 13 of the youngest healthcare executives in the United States. Names and ages of these executives; Health systems which they work for; Personal and professional information on these executives.

Questions whether the managed-care plan, initiated in April, 1997, the Los Angeles Care Health Plan will work. Skepticism over the plan; How the plan works; Who are eligible for the plan; Comments from persons in the industry.

Presents information on the market competition among health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred providers organizations (PPOs) and other health care providers in the United States. Information on an annual survey of provider-owned HMOs and PPOs; Casualties of market competition; Advantages of providers; Detailed information on HMOs alliance.

Focuses on how the American public views the managed care industry. How the public rated the managed care industry; Details of a campaign launched to improve its image by the industry; What members in the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) are expected to do to maintain their membership; Results of a February, 1997 survey which rated consumer satisfaction with selected industries.

Presents information on the impact of managed-care mergers on patients and providers in the United States. Experience of Jeff Margolis, an executive, whose managed-care company survived three changes of ownership; Criticism of tactics used by merger companies; Information on other consolidations and mergers in the healthcare industry; Implications of mergers for health plans and providers.

Focuses on `Modern Healthcare' magazine's chronicle of relevant healthcare news in the United States. Growth of managed care; Advent of ambulatory care; Controversies and trends involving for-profit hospitals.

Reports that employers and representatives of large-employer purchasing groups are concerned about health maintenance organization (HMO) bashing in the United States media. Perception of employees; Lopsided media coverage of managed care; Criticism of managed care in a `Time' magazine report; Demonstration of quality to silence the press.

Reports on the plans of health maintenance organizations (HMO) in the United States to fight back in connection with media criticisms over quality of care. High ranking of HMOs and managed care in several quality and satisfaction surveys; Skepticism, distrust and hostility toward HMOs; Continued growth of HMOs.

Reports on the increasing number of employer-sponsored and insurer-sponsored primary healthcare centers in the United States. Provision of convenient, lower-cost alternative to primary care networks to managed-care payers and health plan enrollees; Control of costs by controlling the entry point into the healthcare system.

Presents a guide to dining in the Los Angeles area for people planning to attend the American Library Association's (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in 1994. Discussion of restaurants which were chosen with lunch in mind; Pasta Firenze; The Palm Terrace Restaurant; The Original Pantry Cafe; Il Fornaio's; More.

Looks at a federal law, approved by United States President Bill Clinton which would mandate parity for mental health benefits, with reference to the reaction of healthcare companies to this law. Details on the legislation; Areas which it fails to address; Possibility that health plans would have larger expenses due to the law; How managed care is viewed in the United States.

Discusses alliances between some Blues plans in the United States, focusing on how this has helped them to survive financially. Information on some alliances; Benefits of such alliances; Details on HMO-USA; National Accounts Consortium; Plans by New York's five Blues plans to offer statewide managed-care products.

Reports that major California purchasers are spending time and money to ensure health maintenance organizations (HMOs) improve in their quality of care. When the premium rates for employers belonging to the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) will drop; Average rate reduction won by the PBGH; Statements from Cheryl Dambert, director of research for the PBGH. INSET: Pacific Business Group on Health's quality initiatives..

Reports that the expected merger of Health Systems International (HSI) and Foundation Health Corporation would give the combined company a opportunity to use HSI's medical management system. Expected revenues of the merger; Amount of money the companies expect to save; Provisions of the system; Statements from Daniel D. Crowley, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Foundation. INSETS: Another managed-care giant is born.;Recent big health plan mergers..

Reports on the launching by supporters of Proposition 216, a California ballot initiative aimed at curbing healthcare abuses, of a media blitz. Health maintenance organizations (HMO) patients who died or became critically ill because they were allegedly denied of care; Co-sponsorship of the blitz by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights; Amount HMOs would allegedly spend to defeat the proposition.

Reports on the US National Committee for Quality Assurance's release of the first comprehensive database called `Quality Compass' on health maintenance organizations (HMO). Lack of representation of other HMO plans in the data; Integration of information on HMO accreditation and performance in the 1995 Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set measures.

Reports on the state of health maintenance organizations. Curbing of malpractice in the industry; Controversies affecting the image of the industry; Other trends in the industry; Financial status of the industry.

Reports on the release of new health plans standards by the Foundation for Accountability or FACCT. Composition of FACCT; Healthcare processes measured by the standards; Basis of the standards.

Reports on the rise in the number of claims and lawsuits under managed care from 1991 to 1995. Farmers Insurance Group data; Claims targeting physician groups rather than health maintenance organizations; Liability.

Focuses on the challenges health maintenance organizations in the United States on the issue of managed care. Results of a survey by Towers Perrin on the ranking of institutions that people look for support when making healthcare decisions; Problems with legislators attitude concerning managed care; Features of the bill filed in California outlawing so-called gag rules.

Looks into the profitability of the merger between Santa Monica Hospital and University of California Los Angeles Medical Center. Evaluation of services rendered; Advantages of consolidated managed-care contracting; Centralization of financial services and materials management.

Discusses the aspirations of physician John Lewin as president of the California Medical Association. Concerns of access and accountability; Submission of a physician-owned and -operated health plan proposal; Plans' offering of multiple products.

Reports that the Los Angeles County, California, has launched the first of its public-private partnerships in response to a budget crisis that in the fall of 1995 threatened closure of public hospitals and clinics. Restructuring made of its delivery system; Obstacles to be faced in meeting its goals; Factors that will contribute to the success of the privatization.

Reports on the challenges to be faced by Mark R. Finucane as chief of the Los Angeles County's health services department. Job experiences; Methods to be used in stabilizing the morale of the department.

Forecasts managed care mergers in the United States in 1996. Acquisitions and consolidations among health maintenance organizations; Protection of turf from provider-sponsored networks; News coverage of health maintenance organizations.

Reports on the entry of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) into the market for workers' compensation in the United States. HMOs' claims of improvements in the workers' compensation system; Profits posted by HMOs.

Reports on a nurses' sickout which is precipitated by the fiscal crisis in Los Angeles County, California. Ambulance diversion from the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center contributing to the death of a gunshot victim's death; County supervisors' consideration of a proposal from County Administrator Sally Reed to close the hospital.

Focuses on the efforts by employers to encourage Medicare-eligible retirees to join Medicare risk health maintenance organizations in the United States. Growth of median claims for Medicare-eligible retirees; Savings for employers as a result of the move; Comment by George B. Wagoner, managing director at William M. Mercer.

Reports on the call by health care providers for the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association to file a lawsuit to halt illegal discounts taken by payers through so-called silent preferred provider organizations (PPO). Features of the illegal discounting; Comment by John Steiner, counsel for AHA; Reaction by PPO groups.

Talks about the issue of quality and cost in providing healthcare facilities to the people. Benefit for the purchasers of healthcare; Concern of healthcare employers; View of eminent figures from medical world over the issue; Note on medical-loss ratio; Details.

Reports on the findings of a study of American hospitals on the correlation of higher rates of managed care to lower costs, reduced length of hospital stay and decreased mortality rates. Conduct of survey by KPMG Peat Marwick; Cost savings without adverse impacts on clinical outcomes.

Focuses on the efforts of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) like the Watts Health Foundation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, both in California, to provide managed care services to Medicaid recipients through full-risk contracts. Challenges faced by HMOs in managed care; Need for long-term commitment of community organizations; Programs established.

Reports on the rebuilding of Santa Monica Hospital and Saint John's Hospital and Health Center in California after the Northridge quake on January 17, 1994. Santa Monica Hospital as part of the UniHealth America system; Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas as owner of Saint John; Discussion of a possible merger; Strategy of rebuilding.

Discusses the test program, Health Quest being run by the healthcare authorities in Hawaii. Problems facing the program; Views of Hawaiian healthcare officials on the program.

Reports on the filing of charges by the California-based National Pain Institute of Marina del Rey against some compensation insurers in California. Reaction of the defendants and details of the suit.

Focuses on the changes in Washington's healthcare market. Implementation of Washington Health Services Act of 1993; Expansion of Medicaid program into managed care; Creation of Health Services Commission to define the uniform benefit package; Health maintenance organizations'(HMO) penetration of the Washington market; Increase of HMO enrollments.

Reports on state initiatives affecting health care. Includes postponement of Proposition 187, a California ballot measure denying all but emergency health care to illegal immigrants; Rejection of an amendment to Oregon's constitution that would have allowed anti-competitive mergers of hospitals and other providers; Endorsement of a measure that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Oregon.

Reports that California hospital and physician associations are working to defeat two initiatives on the November 1994 ballot that would radically alter state healthcare delivery. Opposition to Proposition 187, the `Save Our State' initiative endorsed by Governor Pete Wilson; Denial of non-emergency care to illegal aliens; Voters' objections to Proposition 186, the `California Health Security Act.'

Focuses on the partnership between two health maintenance organizations (HMO) and provider-sponsored organizations (PSO) in the United States. Terms of the deal offered by Humana and PacifiCare Health Systems Incorporated; Benefits of the strategy to HMO companies; Implications of the partnership trend. INSET: HMOs to help PSOs enter medicare market.