Difference between HMO and PPO?

Most people already have a strong preference between these two models but in case you a need a quick summary, here it is.
With a PPO, you have more flexibility to choose your doctors; you are not locked into a region or a primary care doctor. You can self-refer yourself out to specialists. The trade off is that you will help share the costs when you get sick or hurt in the form of a deductible or co-insurance.
With an HMO, you choose a Primary Care Physician who has more control over referral and/or decisions regarding your care. You must remain within your medical group and within a geographic region. The trade off with this more structured approach is that there will be less out of pocket when sick or hurt. For example, for inpatient hospital, you may be looking at nothing out of pocket.
TIP HMO's have become more expensive so compare the annual premium difference with PPO options to make sure you are not paying too much.

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