According to Interstudy, a nonprofit organization that studies health

tonymouse , I am not sure which part of the clause that you quote does not make sense.

Maybe the words that are missing after 73 percent and will be?
Words have been omitted. This construction is called ellipsis or elliptical construction.
We can drop words in English.
Elliptical construction is among the hardest subjects to tackle, even for native speakers.

My shortened version of correct answer (C):
According to Interstudy, only 36 percent of HMO’s were profitable last year; it estimates that this year 73 percent will be.

When I write in the words that have been omitted, the sentence is:

According to Interstudy, only 36 percent of HMOs were profitable last year;
it[Insterstudy] estimates that this year 73 percent [of HMOs] will be [profitable].

• it = Interstudy (the non-profit organization that does this kind of analysis)
A pronoun such as IT can refer to a noun in a previous clause even if the two clauses are separated by a semicolon.

• estimates that this year 73 percent [of HMOs]
The "of HMOs" is omitted after the second percentage because we know that we are comparing
profitability of HMOs. (What else would 73 percent refer to if not HMOs?)

We can omit words as long as meaning is clear and we do not break
any grammar rules such as parallelism.

• will be [profitable]
The adjective and subject complement "profitable" is dropped the second time
that HMOs are . . . well, they are not mentioned explicitly, but HMOs are referred to by the words "73 percent."

We omit words because repetition can create leaden prose, or wordy prose, or both.

I hope that I cleared up whatever was confusing about the clause that you highlighted.

If not, ask a question that is a little more specific, and tag me or someone else.
_________________

I'd go with C. A pronoun is not needed at all immediately following the introductory prepositional phrase followed by the appositive. Try taking out the appositive, "a nonprofit organization that studies health maintenance organizations (HMO’s)," and read it that way. Since the pronoun is not needed, that means that neither A nor D is the answer. That leaves B, C, and E. Since both B and E use a plural pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent, that leaves C as the answer.

According to Interstudy, a nonprofit organization that studies health maintenance organizations (HMO’s), they estimate that, in comparison to last year, when only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s was profitable, this year 73 percent will be.

(A) they estimate that, in comparison to last year, when only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s was profitable, this year 73 percent will be

(B) compared to only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s being profitable last year, they estimate 73 percent would be this year

(C) only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s were profitable last year; it estimates that this year 73 percent will be

(D) it estimates 73 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s would be profitable this year; last year that was only 36 percent

(E) only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s last year were profitable, whereas they estimate it this year to be 73 percent
A- they is plural reference
B-they plural
C-ambiguas reference
D-corrrect
E-they is plural reference

it is between C and D. In D,I think, 'it' doesn't sound right as a subject. and 'that' after semi colon refers to what? 'profit' or 'Interstudy'?

I pick C..

The sentence tests modifier
A and D are out as they unnecessarily use pronouns. B & E have pronoun error. B also uses being wrongly.

C is the clear winner.

C for me at the first instant..

According to Interstudy, a nonprofit organization that studies health maintenance organizations (HMO’s), only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s were profitable last year; it estimates that this year 73 percent will be.

The correct part of the sentence needs to be followed by the clause itself.. Hence, leaves choice C and E. E is incorrect cos the choice uses "they".

Was stuck between C and D. Chose D because C had a construction "estimate...will be". I know "will" is only used for certainty. How can estimation be so certain? Can someone please explain? But, D has a bigger problem of "year" getting "modified" by "that" clause. Both of them are faulty. In these cases, does anyone know which one to choose?

According to Interstudy, a nonprofit organization that studies health maintenance organizations (HMO’s), they estimate that, in comparison to last year, when only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s was profitable, this year 73 percent will be.

(A) they estimate that, in comparison to last year, when only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s was profitable, this year 73 percent will be

(B) compared to only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s being profitable last year, they estimate 73 percent would be this year

(C) only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s were profitable last year; it estimates that this year 73 percent will be

(D) it estimates 73 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s would be profitable this year; last year that was only 36 percent

(E) only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s last year were profitable, whereas they estimate it this year to be 73 percent

ok - I go by the meaning.....and then to the Logic....and then the grammar,etc
A - Wrong grammatically (beginning with THEY - no referrent)
B - Grammar - 1 - Comapared To [X}, [Y] - Parallelism issue,
2 - (they estimate 73 percent) should be (they estimate THAT 73 percent)
C - Meaning fine, Logic fine, Grammar (yes, some ppl noticed - estimates that.....will be) is wrong construction - But kept it aside because did not feel this to be a make/break issue
D - Wrong grammatically (beginning with IT - no referrent)
E - Grammar - 1 - (607 HMO’s last year were profitable) should be (607 HMO’s last year being profitable)
2 - [X], WHEREAS [Y] - Parallelism error

______________________
Whats wrong in D with "it"?
Thanks.

the problem is with the structure.
According to Interstudy, an organization, it estimates

the following construction is not only correct but also sounds right.
According to Interstudy, an organization, only 607 HMO’s were profitable last year

2 points:

The performer of the estimation is a single institude, so any choice mentioning 'they' which is referring to the institude is false.

so A , B , E are out

In D, 'last year that was only 36 percent' is ambiguous, since the word 'that' has no reference.
according to the context, 'that' should refer to 'the percentage of HWO's that are profitable'; but this is not explicitly mentioned in the sentence. So D is out.

In the OA, C, isn't the "36 percent of nation" singular? Can someone explain why it is being considered plural?

It is not "36 percent of nation", but "36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s". HMO's are countable (607 to be precise) and hence 36% of them are also countable (plural).

I'm a non-native, and I don't understand "it estimates that this year 73 percent will be" at all, since I've never seen a sentence structure like this. Could anyone explain it?

Thank you so much and that solved my problem! I know this phenomenon but I hadn't encountered so much ellipsis in an SC question and didn't reflect to it. I appreciate it so much that I got replied in such a short time with a perfect explanation. Thank you again!

You are very welcome. I am glad I could help, and I appreciate the feedback.
_________________

Poor question. A non profit organisation has no verb.

Sentences after semi-colon are supposed to be IC but in Option (C), it does not seem like that.

Also, how is the "it" after semi-colon NOT ambiguous?

I think Option D is the better one. Experts, Please help.

We definitely have an independent clause on either side of the semicolon in choice (C):

1) "only 36 percent of the nation’s 607 HMO’s were profitable last year" - the verb is "were", and the subject of that verb is "36 percent" (36 percent of what? of the nation's 607 HMO's).
2) "it estimates..." - the verb is "estimates", and the subject of that verb is "it".

It doesn't matter that #2 wouldn't make much sense on its own. Take this pair of sentences, for example:

Tim is a friend of mine. He often loans money to me.

If we get rid of the first sentence, the second one doesn't make as much sense (who does "he" refer to?). But that certainly doesn't mean that the second one isn't a grammatical sentence. The same goes for option (C). The second independent clause might not make sense on its own, but it's a complete thought with a main subject and verb.

As for the pronoun "it": well, what singular nouns could "it" refer to? The subject "36 percent" has a plural verb ("were") and would therefore require a plural pronoun. The only singular options are "Interstudy" and "a nonprofit organization", and those two nouns refer to the exact same thing! We can replace "it" with either "Interstudy" or "a nonprofit organization" and get the same exact meaning.

I hope that helps!
_________________