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You hear a lot about Health Maintenance Organizations. To understand what an HMO does you have to look at how it works. In'73 the U.S. government decided that any company that had over 25 employees needed health care coverage for their employees that was government approved. It is one of the managed care, health care programs that is available to people. Medical practitioners that want to stay busy with a lot of patients are interested in being part of this type of program. Although they do make less, it is ok because of the number of patients. They are regulated by the HMO and they have to abide by all of the rules that they lay down. Even if they sometimes don't agree with it. For the majority of HMO's the patient has to choose a primary care physician. This can be a general practitioner, pediatrician, internist, or a family doctor. These will act like your gateway to any other care. You have to go through them before you see anyone else, unless it is an emergency. So, if you want to see a specialist or even go to another doctor, you have to get their permission. They will only send you if the reason that you want to go fits within the rules of the HMO. The HMO has a lot of rules and your doctor will get looked at occasionally to see if he is treating people according to the guidelines. HMO plans are known for doing preventative care. They realize that if illnesses are caught early on then they are easier, and cheaper, to deal with. They will not approve any elective types of procedures though. There are other less restrictive HMO plans, and they cost more. That seems to be the main attraction of the HMO. It is probably less expensive than any other type of health insurance available, that isn't government sponsored. That and the fact that they do their best to keep you healthy. The simplest way to get decent self employed insurance is to search online. Getting quick health insurance quotes will give you costs immediately.
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