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Previous Volume 336:72-73 January 2, 1997 Number 1 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: Your portentous parable (Aug. 8 issue)¹ of the Panglossian, albeit Procrustean, practices of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) did not include one important element of the game — mergers. When two HMOs merge, each terminates business. Accordingly, executives and directors of both entities are entitled to termination benefits (golden parachutes). Since the same people are induced to assume identical positions in the new HMO, they receive initiation benefits. Termination and initiation packages include cash bonuses, large salaries, stock options, and other rewards worth millions of dollars.

The relevant issue is not whether these organizations can afford to merge . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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