UCI MEDICAL CENTER: Says PacifiCare HMO is No-Go

      After suffering millions of dollars in losses, UCI Medical Center will drop HMO contracts with Santa Ana-based PacifiCare Health Systems, forcing 3,730 patients to change doctors, the Orange County Register reports. "It was a very difficult decision but one we had to make to stay a viable organization," Susan Rayburn, vice president of external affairs for UCI Medical Center, said. Health care providers maintain that not enough of the health care premium is given to cover the cost of medical services, while HMOs argue that providers are not managing their money properly. "The rates UCI was demanding were inconsistent with the Orange County marketplace," PacifiCare spokesperson Tyler Mason noted (Crabtree, 4/27). The decision to drop PacifiCare marks the end of a seven-year relationship between the two organizations (Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 4/27).