HMO Panel

Re “HMO Panel to Call for Consumer Protections,” Dec. 31:

When an industry whose name indicates the maintenance of health looks upon the provision of health care as “medical loss,” the patients will suffer from the maintenance of the bottom line.

I look forward to the release of the full report, but feel very uneasy that there will be continued restrictions on provision of care and timely access to specialists. The continued and increasing concentration of control by HMOs of access to physicians by patients and the limited or lack of choice of plans by patients require the utmost regulatory diligence.

I am pessimistic that the watered-down task force recommendations will protect patients from the obvious excesses of HMO restrictions, when they voted down a provision that would hold HMOs accountable for such restrictions.

DONALD SCHWARTZ MD

Long Beach