Statistics budget: forecasting encounters. Instead of its current forecast, ZMG Hospitalist Practice now estimates that it will not obtain a major HMO contract, and its encounters for July through December are expected to rise by only 1.5% a month from the previous year. Assuming these are the only changes to Exhibit I.1a, prepare a new forecast of the number of encounters that will be made by commercial patients during the whole year.

(Hint: see Appendix I, at the end of this chapter.)