For first time ever, HMO enrollment drops in 1999

National HMO enrollment fell by 400,000 last year, from its all-time high of 81.3 million. For at least two years, a wider array of managed care products, such as point-of-service plans and PPOs, and an ever-smaller pool of people still covered under indemnity plans slowed the rate of HMO enrollment growth. Now, as the industry matures, it is undergoing consolidation; according to InterStudy Publications, which monitors managed care trends , there were 568 HMOs in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2000, down from 643 on Jan. 1, 1999.

Total HMO enrollment (millions, as of Jan. 1)

HMO enrollment growth over previous year

SOURCE: INTERSTUDY COMPETITIVE EDGE 10.2, INTERSTUDY PUBLICATIONS, ST. PAUL, MINN., 2000