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Can one of you SICKO fans help me select a PPO?

GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts
edited July 2007 in Strut Central
For the first time in my adult life I've been offered a medical plan but I got no idea what to select. Alls I know is people say going with an HMO is a bad choice so I'm looking into PPO'sI got several offers from United Healthcare & Blue Cross to review (standard & select) I'm a 27 year old skinny man in fairly good health who needs glasses and is not allergic to any medication (I am allergic to jell-o though)what plans do you guys got and how can you tell whats best for you?

  Comments

  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    what pans do you guys got?

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    I got several offers from United Healthcare & Blue Cross to review (standard & select)

    I'm a 27 year old skinny man in fairly good health who needs glasses and is not allergic to any medication (I am allergic to jell-o though)

    I have Blue Cross Standard. Except for a physical and a yearly optometrist appointment, my 29-year-old ass doesn't really need much maintenance, and the price is the best, so I'd recommend that to you if you're not too worried about long-term ongoing treatments or family coverage.
  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts

  • JimBeamJimBeam Seattle. 2,012 Posts
    Blue Cross. I've never had a problem w/ them.
    edit: i have not seen sicko
  • DjArcadianDjArcadian 3,632 Posts
    Aren't PPO's plans that give you more options as far as selecting your doctor and the type of service/treatments you get but you have to pay 10% of the cost of these procedures? Seems like kind of a raw deal given that a $100K procedure would still cost you $10,000. I have full HMO with Kaiser and although I've never had any serious problems they've always treated me well. That's in California though and frankly I've heard bad stuff about the Oakland Kaiser. The Walnut Creek Kaiser is top notch though.
  • JimBeamJimBeam Seattle. 2,012 Posts
    everything's got co-pays under a ppo, and it depends on the plan, but what the patient ends up paying on most procedures is reasonably capped. And yeah, you can select from a list of primary care physicians and specialists based upon what your needs are.
    The beef ppl have w/ ppo's is in the plans themselves: Some procedures are determined necessary/ not necessary, and they are a little more liberal as the plan prices rise, for obvious reasons.
    For general purposes, or if someone's not too worried about their health and has no ongoing health issues, PPO's tend to work OK. If anyone's got lasting health issues, they definitely should do their physician/coverage research before selecting a plan though.
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    first of all I have not seen Sicko.

    that said I tend to avoid the plans where you gotta go through a primary care physician for any kind of referral.

    like, if you have an ear infection why wait a day or two to get an apptment with the primary, then another day or two for an apptment with an ear/nose/throat specialist? I say cut out the middle man.

    but what do I know.
  • JustAliceJustAlice 1,308 Posts
    I had a lot to choose from but went with HealthNet because they offered alternative care such as massage, chiro, sports therapy + optical and dental.

    Bluecross wasn't going to get me that.

    I just got my first bill for the 5 stitches I had to get on Saturday.

    $50 co-pay. I have no idea what more I will pay beyond that $50, but I imagine it will still be more than my $250 deductable, maybe not....I think/hope they are going to cover at least 80% of the ER bill.

    I still don't understand how it works really.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    massage

    Aw, man???I didn't know that sort of thing was available. I'd be getting massages left and right if my medical insurance was going to cover it.

    (INSERT HAPPY ENDING JOKES HERE)
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