HMO Health Plans

Health Maintenance Organization is a group of healthcare providers that have been contracted by an insurance company to offer their services at a certain fixed rate.

These plans are restrictive in that they require you to select a primary care physician. The primary care physician that you chose must be part of the HMO group of providers and whenever the need arises to see a specialist, a referral must be obtained from this primary care physician first.

Many employers offer this type of coverage and one major advantage is the cost. Premiums are comparatively low as are the co-payments. Another monetary advantage of HMO's is that there are no deductibles.

A disadvantage of a HMO is if your primary physician drops from the HMO plan, you will then be forced to find another physician or pay a higher cost to continue to use the same physician. For many who have developed a comfort level with their physician this is not a pleasant option.