HMO Enrollments in Upward Spiral, Survey Shows

Enrollment in health maintenance organizations jumped almost 10% this year to 45.3 million people, as more Americans forsook fee-for-service medicine for one-price, prepaid care, a trade group reported Thursday.

Karen M. Ignagni, president of the Group Health Assn. of America, predicted that HMOs will cover more than 50 million people next year and that the number could reach 100 million by 2000.

“People are choosing HMOs because they work,” said Ignagni, whose organization represents 350 of the nation’s 550 HMOs. They are also choosing them because HMO premiums usually cost less than fee-for-service plans, with lower co-payments and deductibles.

The association said that, based on its survey of 47 HMOs with almost 6 million members, premiums rose 8.1% this year and will climb 5.6% higher in 1994.

According to a KPMG Peat Marwick business survey, HMOs charged small and medium-sized businesses $1,866 per individual and $4,652 per family plan this year, contrasted with $2,235 and $5,141 for fee-for-service.