Health insurance.....?

my place of work just change our insurance to a PPO...what is that..is it like an HMO?...god i hope not...
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PPO (Preferred Participating Organization) means that you can go to medical professionals within the Organization and receive care at a pre-negotiated price. If you go outside of this organization of medical professionals you may owe the whole amount. The mis-conception is that with these policies you can see anyone, but in reality most PPO's in the USA will pay little or nothing for services outside of contracted physicians or hospitals. Most PPO plans have Deductibles and also Co-insurance, when purchasing one ask what the max. out of pocket is (the amount when you stay within the network of physicians would be the most you would pay in one calendar year) Ex. if you have a 250. deductible 80/20 plan this means that when you see a doctor for x-rays and diagnostics you would pay the first 250.00 once this amount is paid you will also pay 20% of the charges up to the max. Every year this starts over, in the USA employers and Individuals are purchasing higher deductible PPO plans these are becoming popular because they are much much cheaper (in most cases 40-60%). HMO (health maintence organization) with these type of plans you first pick a primary care physician who receives pre-payment for services. In essence you are paying ahead of time to see the doctor, these types of plans are now very expensive since you are paying for services upfront. Visit your health insurance companies website for the doctor listings, and I would suggest calling ahead to verify that the doctor is still ont he Preferred Participating physician, they are constantly changing. Ultimately you do not want to end up with a big bill.
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