HEALTH

Mullikin Gets HMO License: For the first time, California regulators have granted a license to a physician-management company to operate a health maintenance organization, or HMO. The state Department of Corporations approved the license for the Pioneer Provider Network, an affiliate of MedPartners/Mullikin, a medical group that operates clinics serving 680,000 Californians. The “modified” license allows MedPartners/Mullikin to accept a greater share of the financial risk traditionally borne by insurers, and to retain a greater percentage of the insurance premiums paid under “fixed-fee” HMO contracts. The firm will not be allowed to market its services directly to employers, as HMOs do, said Mark Wagar, chief operating officer.