An experimental program in 15 states in which Medicare beneficiaries purchase a type of Medicare supplement insurance product which covers supplemental services, but only if they are provided by designated preferred providers. Medicare SELECT was made possible by federal legislation in 1990 (OBRA) which permitted the program to be tested for a period of 3 years beginning in 1992. The states chosen by the Health Care Einancing Administration (HCEA) were Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Michigan and Oregon were later replaced by Massachusetts and Illinois. By late 1994, about 450,000 (about 3%) of the eligible beneficiaries had signed up.