Enrollment rose to nearly 1.4 million members by the end of 1996, up more than 64,000 for the year. Seniors, especially, were attracted to our revamped Medi-CareFirst product, which charges no additional premium and offers additional special benefits. Revenues also increased sharply last year to $1.96 billion, from $1.88 billion in 1995. Despite these performance gains and further reductions in the administrative expense ratio, pressure from rising medical care costs reduced net income to $29.6 million last year, compared to $44.3 million in 1995. Effective cost control measures put into place during the second half of 1996 are expected to improve our earnings in 1997. The companyıs statutory surplus rose to $252 million in 1996, up 27 percent and enough to cover 4.6 months of projected claims under current operations.         The board of directors last year approved IT Blueprint, a $60 million investment in information technology over a three-year period to develop an integrated, state-of-the-art computer system improving our linkages with customers, brokers, providers and care resources.         Sharp increases in membership and revenue during 1996, expanding markets and improved internal efficiencies provide a solid platform for future membership and earnings growth in the months ahead. .      .    .  . m o r e     m o m e n t u m .  .   .      . [ customers | new partners | our people | wellness | financially | philosophy ]

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