title: HMO encroachment. The Palm Beach County Medical Society's response.
abstract: In 1984, the Palm Beach County (Florida) Medical Society faced the invasion of an HMO which, via an expensive advertising plan, urged Medicare recipients to enroll in a program that promised free health care. As physicians watched more and more of their older patients transfer to the HMO, they turned to their local medical society, which formulated a response. It launched a public information campaign designed to give patients the necessary facts about HMOs so they could make an informed decision about joining. The article describe the specific steps the physicians took to battle the new competition.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D005431:Florida; D005607:Fraud; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014481:United States