The HMO Backlash / COUNTY REPORT
HMOs are the boogiemen of late-1990s American culture. Nobody’s all that happy with them. In Ventura County, doctors are angry because they’ve lost their power. Hospitals are cutting costs and pushing patients out the door. And many patients think they’re getting cut-rate medical care. A Times look at the local HMO revolution begins today. B1.
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Plan Est. local Statewide Year enrollees enrollees licensed Health Net 57,000 1.63 million 1979 PacifiCare 50,000 2.3 million 1978 Blue Cross California Care 50,000 1.6 million* 1986 Kaiser Foundation 52,000 5.5 million 1975 Blue Shield HMO 16,000 561,000 1988
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* Includes some enrollees with PPO options.
Source: California Assn. of Health Plans; Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net, PacifiCare, Kaiser
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