HMOs Alive and Well in Orange County

Publication Date: January 2003

Publisher: Center for Studying Health System Change

Author(s): Aaron Katz; Robert E. Hurley; Leslie Jackson Conwell; Bradley C. Strunk

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Coverage: California

Abstract:

In March 2003, a team of researchers visited Orange County to study that community’s health system, how it is changing and the effects of those changes on consumers. The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), as part of the Community Tracking Study, interviewed more than 110 leaders in the health care market. Orange County is one of 12 communities tracked by HSC every two years through site visits and every three years through surveys. Individual community reports are published for each round of site visits. The first three site visits to Orange County, in 1996, 1998 and 2001, provided baseline and initial trend information against which changes are tracked. The Orange County market encompasses an area of about 30 cities south of Los Angeles.