Objectives: A pilot care managing programme was introduced in Hungary in 1999. The conceptual foundations of the Hungarian implementation of managed care is closer to what was called the GP fundholding in the UK than HMOs in the USA. The purpose of the study is to analyse the cost savings realized within the Hungarian care managing programme. MethOds: The data derive from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA) covering the period 1999-2007. We identified the annual cost savings realized by the Care Managing Organizations. The Hungarian CMOs was financed through a risk adjusted capitation fee and the health services covered by CMOs were defined in legal regulations. Cost saving was defined as the difference between the annual revenues (capitation fee) and expenditures (real utilization) of care managing organizations. Results: During the study period the total number of persons covered by the care managing programme increased from 1.5 % of the Hungarian population to its peak of 19.4