I am always surprised that many people don't realize that there are still MDs in private practice. That means they do NOT belong to an HMO or PPO. I could not have survived in an organization like Kaiser, an HMO, where I would be told how many patients I was required to see, how much time I had for each patient and how many referrals I could make. HMOs are very restrictive and if you have an emergency on a trip or away from your primary HMO facility you will have to pay the cost yourself. HMOs use a lot of physician assistants and nurse practitioners which I would not accept.
PPOS are a little different. They have a network of doctors and hospitals available to you. Some coverage is offered for patients outside of their network. However, there will be a cost to you. Also what you pay each month will be a little more than in an HMO. In addiction, your cost to see a physician in a PPO will be more than in an HMO.
Before you decide on health insurance it is important to do a lot of research. My parents chose care at an HMO and even though I found an excellent doctor for them in private practice, they would not see him. Cost was a factor, as well as a fondness for their GP in the HMO. He had a great art of medicine but his medical knowledge was very poor. My mother paid for it with her life. She died at far too young an age and my father, who was six years older, had a lonely six years after her death.
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