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To: marc ultra who wrote (7689)	8/11/1999 5:25:00 PM
From: Investor2	Respond to of 15132

Thanks for the sentiment data. I was going to check the mutual fund cash levels, but I can't find the link. I know it's in my Favorites folder somewhere. Does anyone have the link handy? Best wishes, I2

To: marc ultra who wrote (7689)	8/11/1999 10:23:00 PM
From: marc ultra	Respond to of 15132

HMO's under financial pressure a large percentage of physicians and public hate HMO care as it is result IMO may be continued pressure on health care costs and ECI HMOs lose money for second consecutive year PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL, Aug 11 (Reuters) -- US health maintenance organizations (HMOs) suffered a combined $490 million loss during 1998, with 56% of the companies in the red, according to a study by Weiss Ratings Inc. released Monday. Weiss Ratings said that the loss follows $768 million in losses in 1997, when 57% of the companies reported negative results. Large HMOs reporting the heaviest losses included Harris Methodist Texas Health Plan with a $99.1 million loss, Community Health Plan Inc. of New York, $74.4 million, and Prudential Health Care Plan Inc. of Texas, $63.6 million. "This is not good news for the consumer," Martin Weiss, chairman of Weiss Ratings, said. "We're bound to see more HMOs dropping Medicare patients, more HMOs going under, and more rate increases as the industry tries to boost profits." Covering 576 HMOs, the Weiss study found that 100 HMOs failed to meet minimum risk-based capital guidelines recently adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). There are 650 HMOs in the United States, according to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based Weiss Ratings. Although the National Association of Insurance Commissioner guidelines are expected to become law in most of the 50 states, they have so far been approved in only three states. Had they been fully in effect at year-end, state regulators would have been required to take control of 18 HMOs, and they would have had the authority to put another 19 under regulatory control if they deemed it in the best interest of policyholders, according to the report. Weiss Ratings issues financial safety ratings on more than 16,000 financial institutions, including HMOs, life and health insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, property and casualty insurers, banks, and brokers.