41.   After failing to slow several years of rising medical costs, health maintenance groups are pushing the costs on to the consumer.

42.   After several profitable years during which premiums were kept in check, HMOs seem to be no match for the inexorable rise in medical costs.

43.   After the brief disruption, the four executives defended their business, saying the managed-care industry grew out of a need to control rising medical costs.

44.   All HMOs control medical costs by limiting patients to a selected group of doctors, trimming hospital stays and closely monitoring medical needs.

45.   Also, Thornton said, it is improper for a Medicare HMO to conduct a special campaign to re-enroll former subscribers who had low medical costs.

46.   Both companies reported a slowdown in membership growth and said medical costs rose more than expected, especially in Medicare health maintenance organizations.

47.   Business has a lot to teach the government about controlling medical costs.

48.   But as medical costs rise, employers may no longer find savings on benefits to offset increased wages.

49.   But beyond the catch-up in premiums, medical costs are also rising.

50.   But concern is rising as pharmaceutical companies, under pressure to help control medical costs, increasingly look to lower-priced suppliers abroad.