An Alternative for Health Care: HMOs

The spiraling cost of health care is emerging as one of the country's most urgent problems and a major domestic political issue. In the 1940s, prepaid medical care provided by groups of health‐care professionals began to take hold and finally emerged as a serious prospect for cost‐effective health care with the passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 300e). Although still not widespread, interest in HMOs is growing and government incentives to private investment in such organizations should prompt inquiries to libraries from citizens groups, businesspeople, and potential customers of these services. Here is a sampling of items on the subject.