Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) offer one of the most flexible type of insurance plans. This is because, unlike HMOs, you can see any medical provider you want, even if they aren’t “In-Network”. Furthermore, PPOs also have a network of medical providers that you have the option of seeing in order to keep your out-of-pocket costs down.

While your PPO plan will still pay a portion of your costs for seeing an out-of-network medical provider, you will have a larger co-pay than you would by using an in-network medical provider, unless you have called up your insurance company and asked them if you can see the out-of-network medical provider at in-network costs. Sometimes they can accommodate this request and sometimes they cannot. Even still, you will have the flexibility of seeing the medical provider that you want to see, without having to foot the entire bill.

The reason why seeing an out-of-network medical provider is more expensive for you, is because your health insurance company will only pay an out-of-network medical provider the same amount for a visit or procedure as they would an in-network medical provider. You are then responsible for the rest of the bill that your insurance company does not pay. Since your insurance company has an agreement with in-network medical providers (the medical providers accept a lower amount for their services and the insurance company send them more referred patients), going to an out-of-network medical provider will be more expensive. It is not that your insurance company will pay less than if you were to see an in-network medical provider, seeing an out-of-network medical provider simply costs more.

The flexibility of being able to see any medical provider you want to and still be covered under your medical insurance plan is important for some people. They may prefer to “shop around” until they find a medical provider that fits their needs, they may prefer a medical provider who is closer to home, they may prefer to see a medical provider who was referred to them by a trusted friend or family member, or they may have a current medical provider who they prefer to keep even though they are switching insurance plans. The flexibility of a PPO plan allows these people to exercise flexibility and see the medical provider that they want, regardless of whether that medical provider is in-network or out-of-network.

If this type of insurance plan appeals to you, then you should look into what deductible and co-pay options are available in order to decide which PPO plan will work best for you. Remember that different insurance companies will have different rates, deductibles, co-pays, and policies; even though they may all have PPO plans. Therefore, it is important to look at each insurance policy carefully, before you choose the one that you want to apply for. After all, you don’t want any unexpected surprises once you receive the bill!