PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATION (PPO)

PPO is made up of group of providers who have simply agreed to discount their services for a specific insurance plan; this provider group is generally much larger than the network in an HMO and POS.
With PPO’s, a PCP or even the group of providers does not manage a patient’s care; a patient can see any physician he wants to among the providers offering discounts. Out of all managed care plans, PPO’s give patient the most choice of providers and so they are the most expensive plans. Also, patients are not required to visit a PCP before visiting a specialty care physician.