The range of provider/insurer configurations

In the past few years, health care providers have begun to seriously explore the possibilities of forming various kinds of provider/insurer entities. As most people in the health care industry now know, various states, as well as the federal government, have been working on one form or another of legislation or regulations that would permit health care providers to either (1) become insurers in their own right or (2) at least be able to contract more directly with consumers by taking on "full-risk" contracts from health maintenance organizations and insurance companies while, commensurably, assuming additional "delegated authorities" with respect to such contracts with minimal interference from state insurance departments.