Week 1 Discussion 1 Comparing Health Plans

In preparing for this discussion, read Chapters 1 and 2 of the course text. For your initial post, address the following in the discussion forum:

·  Select a managed care plan such as an HMO, PPO, POS, or EPO and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.

·  Explain the main features of a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP).

·  Examine one real-life example of a CDHP plan (e.g., Cigna 1500) and another for the selected managed care plan (e.g., Aetna Open Choice PPO) in terms of covered benefits, choice of providers, and level of cost sharing and then determine which one would be the optimal choice for your family.

Your initial post should be at least 300 words. Support your response with a minimum of two credible sources that were published in the last five years.

Guided Response: Challenge your peers to think about the cost saving, quality, and/or access to care that a health care plan can offer. Be sure to support your response by citing at least one credible source to validate your assertions. Respond to at least two of your classmates posts.

Select a managed care plan such as an HMO, PPO, POS, or EPO and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.An HMO is a company to whom you pay a fixed monthly fee in return for a range of medical benefits.

The organization consists of a network of physicians. Within the network, a patient can then select a PCP. Also with an HMO, it allows for a wider pool of doctors when it comes to emergency care. Most HMO plan requires that the patient makes at least partial payment upon in the physician’s office otherwise known as a copayment. On the other hand, some HMO plans don’t require any copayments for visits or prescriptions. One of the main advantages of an HMO plan is that the costs are tightly controlled. The premiums charged by HMO providers varies widely even within the local area. Some of the disadvantages are becausethe plan is limited to one network of medical professionals the patient can sometimes wait longerfor appointments than if the patient had a different type of health insurance.