An organization which was proposed in the health care reform legislation to be established in the managed competition approach to health care reform to serve as a “sponsor” for populations which would otherwise have no intermediary between their beneficiaries and organizations which provide care. Its basic functions are to bargain with and purchase health insurance from accountable health plans (AHPs) or other sources of health care in behalf of consumers, and to furnish information to consumers on the services provided by the competing AHPs, an evaluation of their quality of care, participant satisfaction, and price.