subject: Ppo Plans And High Deductible Catastrophic Health Plans [print this page] One of the questions we've been getting here at HSA for America is, what's a PPO plan and how does it save me money? So a PPO is a preferred provider organization and when you buy a health insurance plan, the health insurance companies will contract with the PPOs and the PPOs will go to the hospitals and negotiate discounts for their members and these are pretty substantial discounts.
A typical PPO may be getting 40% off the actual listed price for services for anybody that's in their PPO network. So what does that mean to you? Well, if you have a high deductible plan, say you have a $5000.00 deductible plan which is very typical for somebody with an HSA qualified plan and you go to the doctor, you go to the hospital or you go to the emergency room and you have a $1000.00 claim or bill. You may decide, well, I'll just pay it and no sense even turning it in to the insurance company because I haven't even met my deductible. But that would be a mistake because just by having health insurance with that company that has contracted with that PPO, you qualify for that discount and thatts even if the insurance company does not actually pay the claim. That's because you haven't let's say met the deductible or because it's a service that may not be covered by your insurance plan. That doesn't matter as long as the provider or hospital you go to has a contract with that PPO network and your insurance company has a contract with that PPO network, then you get the difference.
So it can really save you a lot of money and as a matter of fact, there are ways you can even sign up for the PPO network without having health insurance, though it's not the way I'd recommend going. If you want to save money, go with a high deductible catastrophic type plan. You'll still save 40% or so on all bills up to that deductible as long as you're going to any network provider and most of the PPO networks are pretty comprehensive, so it's very easy to find a provider in that network and most physicians and hospitals are contracted with numerous PPOs. So that's what a PPO is, that's what a preferred provider organization is and that's how it can save you some money.
For more information on how to save money with PPO plans as well as many other money saving tips and strategies, go to www.HSAforAmerica.com. There you will find more information not only about how to save money on PPO plans and high deductible catastrophic health plans, but also many other ways to seriously reduce your health insurance premiums, cut your tax bill with a Health Savings Account and enjoy all the benefits of a truly comprehensive health plan.
And for a FREE set of 20 information-packed video chats with Wiley Long, President of HSA for America, discussing the most relevant tips on how to save money and get the best health coverage, visit www.HSA-Resources.com.
