What is the difference between an HMO, PPO or POS insurance?
Ans. An HMO insurance plan, or a Health Maintenance Organization, is one in which a set number of doctors are included in the group and these doctors are paid by the plan to care for all the patients over the course of the year. Each doctor is paid a set amount of money per month per patient whether they see the patient or not. The Primary doctor that has been assigned to each patient is the only doctor that can order tests for that patient, and the types of tests that the doctors can order are limited (this is one way in which this HMO type practice is supposed to save money). Many physicians refuse to see HMO patients because these types of insurances don’t reimburse physicians very well for patient care. PPO or POS insurance, Preferred Provider Organization or Point of Service plans are essentially Fee-for-Service Insurances. These plans pay the physician for the services the physician provides after the physician sees the patient. If the physician is a Preferred Provider (meaning l
