HMO PROFITS UP 81% IN 2002, REPORTS WEISS RATINGS.

The nation's health maintenance organizations reported an 81 percent increase in their collective net earnings last year, reports Weiss Ratings of Jupiter, FL.

Total combined profits reached $5.5 billion, up from $3 billion a year earlier, thinks in large part to growing profitability of the HMOs' Medicare+Choice lines, the service reported based on its study of 544 HMOs.

Earnings from Medicare business rose 118 percent to $1 billion as plans received higher government reimbursement and left unprofitable markets, Weiss Ratings said. Profits rose 91 percent to $270.5 million on Medigap lines, the organization said.