Report: Hospitalization rates for some Pennsylvania HMO patients rise

More adults covered by Pennsylvania's HMOs were hospitalized for diabetes and other illnesses in 2006, while more children spent time in the hospital for asthma treatment, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. The Council based its findings on an analysis of 2006 data for nine major for-profit health maintenance organizations, but it provided no national comparison of hospitalization rates and no explanation for why the numbers were increasing. "This shows areas where HMOs can focus their quality improvement efforts," council spokeswoman Stephanie Suran told the Associated Press.