Point of Service Health Insurance Plans for Colorado

Problems with existing Health Insurance plans in Colorado

Health insurance plans as they currently exist in Colorado Springs fall into two major categories - PPOs and HMOs. While these are useful, each has its advantages and disadvantages as may be expected. For example, PPOs have high deductibles and co pays that increase the cost of going to a medical provider. In addition, many patients don't know which doctor can best treat their specific problem. They may not know the name of the specialty that addresses their problem.

HMOs on the other hand have less flexibility in their choice of physicians and don't provide help if you go out of the designated network. The benefit is that it's generally cheaper, and your primary care physician will take care of everything.

In order to bridge the gap between the two plans, insurers have come out with another plan called a Point of Service (POS) health insurance plan. By attempting to bring the best of both worlds to the consumer, insurers have been able to create a flexible and useful option for patients.

Salient points of POS Health Insurance

Point of Service health insurance encompasses the convenience of HMOs. Patients have just one Primary Care Physician (PCP) who they approach for all their medical needs. This is very convenient and patients don't have to worry about the type of specialty of the doctor. The PCP will examine the patient and in case further attention is necessary from a specialist, he or she will refer the patient to them. This specialist will be within the regular network where there will be no deductibles and the copayment will be minimal.

The great advantage of the POS vis a vis an HMO however, is that one doesn't need to stick within the network of health care providers specified by the HMO. The POS plan allows patients to also choose their own doctors to service them after consulting with the PCP. While it's true that it will certainly cost more than staying within the network, some consumers appreciate the choice - perhaps because they trust a certain specialist or perhaps because they need a second opinion.

Summary

By differing from PPOs in their cost and simplicity, and from HMOs by providing better choice, POS health insurance plans in Colorado are proving to be very popular indeed. For many, it is a welcome addition to the choices presented by insurance firms - and that's a good thing isn't it?