HMOs' black ink gets blacker

Quick View. June 2/9, 2003.

First quarter results:

The first quarter of 2003 was generally a prosperous time for most of the leading U.S. publicly traded HMOs.

Companies and analysts pointed to a variety of reasons for HMOs' brightened bottom lines in the first quarter: medical expenses that turned out to be significantly lower than once expected; continued belt-tightening and overhead cutting; premium increases; added efficiencies through data processing and claims processing technology; and increases in membership.

Source: Quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission