Health Maintenance Organization


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Health Maintenance Organization

Commonly called an HMO. A nonprofit organization that offers health insurance to a group of persons and charges members of the group the same monthly premium. Most HMOs require policyholders to have a primary physician who provides referrals for specialists and other medical services. Without these referrals, medical care generally will not be covered. This fact has made HMOs somewhat controversial. However, they generally operate at a lower out-of-pocket cost to consumers. They trace their origins to the early 20th century, but became more popular after the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973.
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Patti Elwood Jr., chief architect of the act and coiner of the term "health maintenance organization," recalled in a historical perspective of Kaiser Permanente's beginnings how he immediately hoarded a plane to Kaiser's Oakland headquarters when the U.S.
A new packaged deal: Kaiser Permanente first applied the HMO concept on a wide-scale basis
One employee-benefits consulting firm forecasts that the rates charged by health maintenance organizations will rise more than 20% next year.
A little help: employers are turning to consultants and brokers to take the hassle out of self-funded health plans. (Industry Strategies: Self-Insurance)
Preliminary results from a health maintenance organization survey show rates will continue at a double-digit increase into 2003, with an average increase of 17% across the United States.
Survey: HMO rate increases are highest in 11 years. (Briefing)
Established in 1999, the Office of the Managed Care Ombudsman helps Virginia consumers understand their rights and the processes available when dealing with managed care health insurance plans, (MCHIPs) such as health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations.
Virginia Bureau of Insurance Names Bryant Managed Care Ombudsman
The Rio Grande Valley became one of the last regions to operate under Medicaid health maintenance organizations last year.
State of Mind: Valley Physicians Push for Medicaid Reforms
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Health economics
<![CDATA[ Health maintenance organizations (kupat holim clinics) will start paying directly for ambulance rides to the hospital starting next February.
HMOs to Cover Ambulance Service
Managed care plans such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs) differ from traditional health insurance in that they restrict health care provider choices.
U.S. provider-owned health plans
(host of cable Television show Today's Health) is an extremely practical primer to the financial lingo of healthcare plans, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Medicare and Medicaid, coverage for those in the military, COBRA, and much more.
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Meanwhile, he continues to wage legal battles against asbestos firms, predatory lenders and health maintenance organizations. However, Scruggs does have his detractors, who believe he is only interested in the money these kinds of court battles can generate for himself and his firm.
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