There are three different types of managed Health Care Plans that most employers offer to their employees. They are Health Maintenance Organizations, Preferred Provider Organizations or Point of Service Providers. Many people wonder just what the difference is between the three. It is actually very simple.

PPO’s (Preferred Provider Organizations) are similar to HMO’s (Health Maintenance Organizations)in that there is a list of providers you can pick from to use as your doctors, be it primary care or a specialist. If you choose from this list, the co-pay is minimal. If you do not choose from this list (go outside the network) you have to pay a percentage of the doctor’s fee, deductibles and co-insurance. These allow employers to offer reduced costs to their employees for medical care. Employees can choose the doctors they want to see and can choose between a member physician or a non-member one. They are not restricted to only the HMO provider.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organizations) like staying in network with a PPO is choosing from a list of doctors and paying a nominal fee (co-pay) for the visit. These allow employers to offer employee’s health care benefits at reduced cost because the insurance company has already negotiated with certain doctors, hospitals and clinics. These are the only providers the employee may use. In return, they get greatly reduced fees from the doctor, hospital or clinic.

POS (Point of Service)is the same as going out of network in a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). The thing that is different about POS is that while employees can still choose their own doctors that have previously signed with the insurance plan and pay reduced feed to see them. The only difference being an employee would have to see their primary physician before seeing a specialist.

These are the basic differences between the three. Naturally, the plan you choose will depend on what your employer offers. These three types of health insurance all vary in the prices of co-pays, out of pocket expenses and deductibles. Review your choices and pick the one that best suits your needs. The good thing is many companies allow you chose a different health insurance provider every year, or of course you could stay with the same one.