Need help with a healthcare plan choice.

[Triforceofcourage]

The choice is between an HMO and a POS. The HMO is $75/month and the POS is $125/month. The coverage is exactly the same dollar for dollar including a zero dollar deductible. Which one would you choose and does it matter?

 

[sixone]

It does matter, because under the HMO, all treatment will be funneled through your primary care physician. If you have a good one, and he's in their network, then choose the HMO.

Otherwise, it depends on how much hassle you're prepared to deal with to save $600 per year.

 

[krunchykrome]

I have the most expensive insurance my company offers. Do I really need it at the age of 24?..probably not. But you never know when something will happen.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Only pick the HMO if your current doctor is in the plan and you don't mind the hassles of referrals for everything.
Personally I would take the POS as you have more choices for coverage (ie., don't need a referal to see a specialist).
If you are young and in good health, the HMO may make financial sense.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
I have the most expensive insurance my company offers. Do I really need it at the age of 24?..probably not. But you never know when something will happen.

I just did the exact opposite, went from expensive to cheaper. My $20 copay and prescriptions and pregnency benefits weren't getting any use.

 

[slsmnaz]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
I have the most expensive insurance my company offers. Do I really need it at the age of 24?..probably not. But you never know when something will happen.

I thought the same until I needed knee surgery a while back. I can't imagine what I would have done without it.

For the OP: I have the HMO because I really like my Dr and he was in network.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: krunchykrome
I have the most expensive insurance my company offers. Do I really need it at the age of 24?..probably not. But you never know when something will happen.

I just did the exact opposite, went from expensive to cheaper. My $20 copay and prescriptions weren't getting any use.

Well, I've been healthy practically all of my life, and suddenly last year, I started getting these crazy headaches. They hurt soo bad and they lasted almost a month that nearly made me a vegetable during that time. The doctors thought it was a brain aneurysm. At the time, I was under my parents insurance. I had a spinal tap done, an MRI, and a cat scan. Not to mention multiple visits to the doctors office and emergency room at the hospital and a visit to a headache institute. All together, I paid about $450 out of pocket. That was with a regular PPO insurance plan. My insurance now is a PPO "High". Like I said, Im healthy, but you really never know when something is going to happen, and the last thing you want to worry about when you feel like you're dieing is whether or not your insurance covers it and if you can go here or there.

 

[jjmIII]

Just curious.....did they figure out what the headaches were from??

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: jjmIII
Just curious.....did they figure out what the headaches were from??

Even after all of the tests and procedures, no doctor could tell me what was wrong. I finally went and saw a headache specialist and the headache institute and they confirmed what others were telling me, that it was a sports headache. It's also referred to as an exertion headache which is observed among football players and weightlifters.

 

[Viper GTS]

Good insurance can be a lifesaver. I've had ~$20K in surgeries in the last 18 months and didn't pay a dime for any of it. Not even a co-pay.

I've been spoiled by good insurance, with my current employer's top plan I'd have been stuck with several grand of that.



Viper GTS