Blue Cross/Blue Shield-sponsored prepaid individual practice

The HMO is no longer a fledgling idea in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield System. There are 45 Blue Cross/Blue Shield Plans throughout the country which sponsor a total of 54 HMO programs with about 1,040,000 members. Among those 54 programs are staff models, group models, Individual Practice Associations (IPAs), and other structures. This analysis is confined to the Minnesota affiliate corporation, "HMO Minnesota."