What is the difference between an HMO and a PPO? Are there any other health plans out there?
Short answer: HMO restricts the insured to a smaller medical group, facility, or physician association. All care must be provided within this group to be covered under benefits (excluding emergencies). Also, contrary to popular belief, HMOs often have higher premiums because of the lower out of pocket costs. You can think of this as “pre-paid healthcare.” PPO offers more flexibility in plan design (deductibles available and so forth) and more flexibility in where the insured can receive care (for example, it would be no problem to get treated by a specialist on the other side of town, where this would be impossible with an HMO). However, the out-of-pocket cost for care is often higher than an HMO, and care is less structured. I’ve been deemed uninsurable because of a certain illness or condition I have/had, how do I get insurance? I recommend looking for coverage in this order: 1) Inquire with multiple insurers. Most have similar, but not identical, underwriting practices. One of the c
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- What is the difference between an HMO and a PPO? Are there any other health plans out there?
