What is an HMO?

Answer:
The acronym HMO stands for health maintenance organization,

which is a type of managed care organization. Many individual’s heath insurance is now managed by an HMO. An HMO works with a group of doctors under their system to reduce costs. This restricts HMO members to using certain doctors but can also reduce the cost of their insurance significantly.

If your insurance is an HMO, you will likely be required to have a designated primary care physician (PCP) who must refer you to other doctors if you would like to see a specialist. The reduced cost of HMOs is appealing, but you must remember if you use an HMO you are more restricted in what doctors you can see and you usually have to follow a procedure to see a specialist.


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