What are the main considerations for purchasing a HMO or PPO dental plan?
HMO’s are plans for either health or dental treatment that require you to select a care provider. This doctor/dentist is your primary care giver. You will need get referrals from their office to get any types of specialized treatments done. They will typically send you to a physician or dentist that is within your HMO plan. So if you break your leg, you need to get a referral from your primary care doctor to see an orthopedic doctor. Same thing as getting your dentist to refer you to an orthodontist. California dental insurance PPO plans do allow you the flexibility to see who you want when you want, basically you lose the referral portion. So in the broken leg incident you go directly to the orthopedic doctor of your choice. One thing to look into with California dental insurance PPO plans is the fact that some of these now have preferred provider networks. If your physical is in the network, you will pay less as they already have pricing agreements in place. HMO’s are good if you are
