Kaiser Permanente HMO vs Added Choice PPO...? (health insurance, pharmacies)

[doitright1]

I need to make a choice for my health insurance plan. I have two choices:

Kaiser Permanente HMO or Kaiser Permanente Added Choice PPO


I was looking at this link:
HMO Vs PPO

I am young and I rarely go to the doctor but that's only because I haven't had medical insurance since from when I was in the military. I am leaning towards the Added Choice PPO because I think that now that I have medical insurance, I would use it to see the doctor after soccer games and heavy strenuous workouts. Have them ice, elevate, massage whatever is sore. At least, I'm hoping it can work out like that. We had physical therapy clinics in the military so it may work out the same way.

But I don't have any ailments or anything recurring that I go to the doctor for ever. Another way I'd use the new medical plan would be for my monthly std checkups. I usually use the free clinic in town but this, I presume, would be easier and much quicker?

Your thoughts overall?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by doitright1

I need to make a choice for my health insurance plan. I have two choices:

Kaiser Permanente HMO or Kaiser Permanente Added Choice PPO


I was looking at this link:
HMO Vs PPO

I am young and I rarely go to the doctor but that's only because I haven't had medical insurance since from when I was in the military. I am leaning towards the Added Choice PPO because I think that now that I have medical insurance, I would use it to see the doctor after soccer games and heavy strenuous workouts. Have them ice, elevate, massage whatever is sore. At least, I'm hoping it can work out like that. We had physical therapy clinics in the military so it may work out the same way.

But I don't have any ailments or anything recurring that I go to the doctor for ever. Another way I'd use the new medical plan would be for my monthly std checkups. I usually use the free clinic in town but this, I presume, would be easier and much quicker?

Your thoughts overall?

After soccer have them ice, elevate, massage whatever is sore??? I need to switch to Kaiser!!

[KauaiHiker]

Have a look at this user's posts. Such a long list of odd questions that it makes me go Hmmmm.

[V-Mutt]

Prior odd questions notwithstanding, why on earth would anyone go to the doctor for soreness from working out or playing sports? Not only would you need to have your appointments scheduled in advance to coincide with your "soreness", you'd burn up a ton of time just running back and forth to the doctor's office. Don't you think you'd be better served propping-up whatever is sore on the arm of your sofa and applying ice at home???

This doesn't even begin to address the issue of providing such low-value services from a system which is engineered for outrageously high costs. You probably don't need to be contributing to that problem.

Use your plan for what it was intended. It's health insurance, not a day spa.

[PacificFlights]

Since you only experience with health care was in the military, you have been insulated about the real reality of health care insurance. What you linked was a generic difference between how and what an HMO is and what a PPO is. That generic discription offers nothing to you in the way of and how and what your actual insurance will do or cover. You need to read the plan summary for each actual insurance plan and understand what is covered, what your co pays will be, your dedcutables, what exclusions there is, and other limitations of your plan.

Example of these is that you most likely will have a co-pay from a couple of dollars to a certain percentage of the bill, are you able to pay that each visist? Your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist or other professional and those visists may be capped if considered sports injuries and you may be able to see them once or twice but after that you foot the total bill, were you aware of that? You may have a dedctable which is you cover the first $X,XXX of medical expenses, did you know that you pay ythe first couple of thousand dollars out of your pocket?

You need to get the actual insurance plan and read it cover to cover to see what and how it works because being surpirsed over denied coverage is a very common item for health insurance.

[doitright1]

Thanks, PacificFlights! I've read both of them a bit but not well enough I guess. Just used the soreness example since I don't really go to the doctor much but I went to the physical therapy clinic across from Makalapa Clinic all the time.

I'll probably go with an HMO but I just hate being limited and would prefer the PPO.

[winkosmosis]

Then get the PPO if you like it better. Kaiser requires you to go to their clinics. I have no idea why anybody would opt in to a system like that.

I chose HMA PPO and I haven't had any doctor decline it. Now we've switched to HMSA PPO. So far so good.

[Koale]

Originally Posted by doitright1

I need to make a choice for my health insurance plan. I have two choices:

Kaiser Permanente HMO or Kaiser Permanente Added Choice PPO


I was looking at this link:
HMO Vs PPO

I am young and I rarely go to the doctor but that's only because I haven't had medical insurance since from when I was in the military. I am leaning towards the Added Choice PPO because I think that now that I have medical insurance, I would use it to see the doctor after soccer games and heavy strenuous workouts. Have them ice, elevate, massage whatever is sore. At least, I'm hoping it can work out like that. We had physical therapy clinics in the military so it may work out the same way.

But I don't have any ailments or anything recurring that I go to the doctor for ever. Another way I'd use the new medical plan would be for my monthly std checkups. I usually use the free clinic in town but this, I presume, would be easier and much quicker?

Your thoughts overall?

Aloha,
I found that had I had the option of Added Choice I would have taken it only for the option of filling Prescriptions at locatiions other than Kaiser Pharmacies at a further discounted rate.
Koale