According to a new survey conducted by the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP), hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans may be forced to search for new health care plans next year as HMOs continue to withdraw from Medicare's managed care program. Citing rising health care costs, 58 plans withdrew from Medicare's program last year, leaving over 500,000 seniors to find new health care coverage. Medicare HMOs provide benefits not offered by traditional Medicare coverage. Dozens more are likely to leave by Tuesday's midnight deadline according to information obtained by AAHP's survey.

A spokesperson for Medicare said he expects more HMOs to withdraw in the future unless Congress agrees to increase program funding. Health care costs rose nearly 7 percent in 2000, doubling the amount of money a typical HMO receives for patient care.