We take issue with the comment of Steven Summer of the West Virginia Hospital Association ('HMO hits W.Va. Hospital's bottom line,' April 5, p. 2) that every HMO in the state has been losing money since it started. Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley, West Virginia's only not-for-profit HMO, with more than 60,000 enrollees, had a reserve position in excess of $27 million as of Dec. 31, 1998. Only the for-profit monoliths trying to buy market share are losing money.
Dave Mathieu
Vice president of marketing
Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley
St. Clairsville, Ohio
