What if I buy HMO and travel a lot in country and get sick sometime. Do you come back all the way to see your physician ?

Well if you have an illness and no more job, you do have a few options.

You can use COBRA and get extended health coverage for up to 18 months, but your premium will likely be about double what it was for your group coverage. In some cases individual coverage may be cheaper. Also depending on your income, you may qualify for either free of low-cost health insurance through Medicaid and SCHIP. That is about as ’secure’ as you will get.

As for your HMO or PPO, it depends on your needs and preference. With HMO it will be cheaper…but you have to choose from a group of doctors and stick with him/her and their ‘network.’ As well, your overall treatment may not be as ‘good’ as PPO.

And yes, you won’t have the choice of doctors you will see for your care. If you want to choose your doctor, you will have to pay for the treatment yourself. Very frustrating I understand.

With PPO it is a little more expensive but that’s because you get to choose what doctor you would like to see. You are paying for flexibility.

The bottom line comes down to money unfortunately. If you can afford to pay a little more, then you will get more flexibility and have more control over your treatments.

The key is to talk directly with your insurance company to see what will work best for you. Be persistent and keep asking questions.

Another thing you should be aware of, is if you become ill, your insurance company can’t deny you coverage because of that, but they can increase your premiums considerably.

Hope this helps!

Cathy

How can you secure your medical treatment if HMO is the kind of insurance that you don’t have control over your treatment. But PPO is also very expensive.

What to do?