What is the best insurance plan, HMO or PPO?!
Question:
What is the best insurance plan, HMO or PPO?
Answers:
That depends upon your situation and what you want.
The HMO usually has a more expensive premium but has lower costs for many procedures.
With the HMO you need to see your primary doctor first (and pay the co-pay) to get a referral to see a specialist. With the PPO a referral is not needed.
With an HMO you must see a doctor in the network. With the PPO you can go outside the network but your co-pays will be higher.
Most HMO's cover maternity, which is another reason they're higher. PPO's do not, however, some have a maternity option available.
HMO's are being phased out of the individual market and are becoming scarce with the group market. Very few companies are offering HMO's anymore.