PPO Flexible Health Care Coverage

A Preferred Provider Organization or PPO is one of the most sought-after types of health insurance. These networks are generally more flexible than HMOs, and they offer many benefits that HMOs do not.

Typically, a PPO gives subscribers the opportunity to choose from a wide range of general physicians and specialists, including pediatricians, gynecologists, oncologists, endocrinologists, psychiatrists, orthopedists, and many more depending on your needs. Members of a Preferred Provider Organization are able to choose their primary care physician and other doctors from a wide selection of participating medical professionals. This will often allow you to continue seeing a trusted family doctor even though you have changed health insurance plans, and can allow you to visit trusted specialists at no extra charge.

Additional PPO benefits include annual well-child and adult physicals, and yearly gynecological exams for women, prescription drugs, coverage of emergency room visits and hospitalizations, outpatient surgeries and other treatments, and care from specialists as needed.

PPO subscribers do not generally have to worry about referrals in order to receive care from in-network specialized physicians. This is a great bonus and one of the biggest benefits of having this type of health care plan -- no waiting around, no going through multiple appointments with a primary care doctor before you can see the right doctor, and no worries that your illness will grow worse as you wait to be seen by one of the very limited number of physicians participating in an HMO plan.

Of course, these benefits are not free. PPOs are more costly than HMOs precisely because of the better benefits they provide. However, these plans can still be cheap and affordable.

One way to lower the cost of a health care policy is to increase the deductible. By agreeng to pay a higher amount before coverage takes over, PPO subscribers can save a significant amount of money in monthly fees. Deductibles can range from $100-$5000+ per family. A higher deductible likely means that your health insurance policy will serve as more of a safety net in case of a serious illness or injury rather than paying for simple or non-chronic medical problems. Still, some families prefer to take this route to avoid paying steep fees to maintain insurance coverage while reserving the right to visit care providers as they see fit.

Naturally, the wider network of a PPO means that going outside the network is going to be more rare than it might be with an HMO. However, subscribers should be prepared for higher fees if they do venture outside the network of participating physicians for one reason or another. Policy-holders can keep their costs down by using one of many in-network doctors and hospitals.

To get a quote and learn more about the specific benefits offerred by our Preferred Provider Organization health care plans, begin with the form on the left side of this page.

Featured Providers