Sentence Correction

Among lower paid workers union members are less likely than non-union members to be enrolled in lower end insurance plans imposing stricter limits on medical services and requiring doctors to see more patients and spend less time with each. (GMAT Prep)

A. mposing stricter limits on medical services and requiring doctors to see more patients, and spend
B. imposing stricter limits on medical services, requiring doctors to see more patients, and spending
C. that impose stricter limits on medical services, require doctors to see more patients, and spend
D. that impose stricter limits on medical services and require doctors to see more patients, spending
E. that impose stricter limits on medical services, requiring doctors to see more patients and spending

OA is D

I understand why all other options are incorrect, but wanted to understand how D is correct. With D, the sentence would be:

Among lower paid workers union members are less likely than non-union members to be enrolled in lower end insurance plans that impose stricter limits on medical services and require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

Basically,

...plans impose stricter limits on medical services and require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

In other words,

...plans require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

This seems to suggest that "plans" are spending less time with each. The reason being that "spending less time with each" is a participial phrase and hence it modifies the subject of the preceding clause ("plans"). But this clearly doesn't make sense.

Please explain.

Tommy Wallach wrote: I won the contest, pleasing my father greatly.
I did the unthinkable and jumped off the diving board, thereby beginning my career as a professional diver.

Thanks Tommy. This is where I was not very clear. In your examples, "I" pleased my father; "I" began my career.

Similarly, with D, the structure is:

...plans require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

So, it seems that "plans" are spending less time with each.

Hello Tommy,

Please refer to https://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/amo ... 04-15.html

mschwrtz mentions:

John photographed his wife, wearing a bustier.
Comma, so "wearing..." attributes actions to "John." He wore the bustier.

Similarly here:

...plans require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

So, it seems that "plans" are spending less time with each!!

iongmat wrote:Among lower paid workers union members are less likely than non-union members to be enrolled in lower end insurance plans imposing stricter limits on medical services and requiring doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

COMMA + VERBing refers to the nearest preceding SUBJECT and serves to express an action that happens as PART OF THE PRECEDING VERB.
Typically, the VERBing action happens AT THE SAME TIME as the preceding verb or AS A RESULT of the preceding verb.
Here, spending refers to doctors, which serves not only as the direct object of requiring but also as the SUBJECT of to see.
What's unusual here is that the action that precedes the VERBing modifier is expressed by an infinitive (to see).
The conveyed meaning: doctors SEE more patients, with the result that the doctors are SPENDING less time with each patient.

GMATGuruNY wrote: COMMA + VERBing refers to the nearest preceding SUBJECT and serves to express an action that happens as PART OF THE PRECEDING VERB.

Interesting. So, in the following sentence:

The middleman cajoled the minister to sign the contract, thereby exposing the incompetent and corrupt ministry.

Are we supposed to interpret that the "minster" exposed the incompetent and corrupt ministry?

Thanks Tommy.

In one of the posts, Ron mentioned this about comma -ing modifiers:

COMMA -ING modifiers are adverbial. they:
* modify the ENTIRE PRECEDING CLAUSE
* are ATTRIBUTED TO THE SUBJECT of the PRECEDING CLAUSE

In the sentence under consideration:

...plans require doctors to see more patients, spending less time with each.

Mitch mentioned: Here, spending refers to doctors.

My sentence: The middleman cajoled the minister to sign the contract, thereby exposing the incompetent and corrupt ministry.

According to me, in this sentence, "exposing" should refer to "minster". However, there might be some difference between this sentence and the sentence under consideration. I just wanted to understand the difference, so that the learning stays with me.

Sure Tommy. Thanks so much. It helped.