For commercial insurers that figure is 15 to 25 percent.

Most big commercial insurers say they can live with the limits.

About 85 percent of its patients are in the Medicare trial, with the rest coming from commercial insurers.

But there is far more that commercial insurers will not absorb.

The Society placed the insurance with commercial insurers and received commission for so doing.

Those with medical problems are often rejected by commercial insurers, he noted.

The charges are paid by commercial insurers and bring the hospitals a total of $160 million a year.

Most of these commercial insurers also refused to sell health insurance to individuals.

Because of that, he said, Empire has lost about 430,000 customers to commercial insurers since 1986.

The state Senate has not yet taken up the bill, vigorously opposed by commercial insurers.